Knights of Renais
by Kate-DS
Summary: Takes place after the end of the game. The heroes find themselves once again facing a new force of evil. Rated T for fantasy violence and mild language.
1. Chapter 1:Eirika, Restoration Queen

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 1: Eirika, Restoration Queen

Now that the war with the Demon King, Fomortiis, was over, Eirika, now queen of Renais, barely had enough time for herself. What with the restoration of her kingdom and all the villages that had been destroyed, Eirika was now busy with all her new duties as the queen.

Her twin brother, King Ephraim, was also busy with the restoration as well as recruiting new soldiers, since many had died fighting the Grado armies. Eirika, though busy with many duties, still missed her father. Lately, she had been feeling lonely despite her brother's constant reassurances that this phase would soon pass.

In the garden behind the Castle, sat Eirika wearing a blue dress, which suited her turquoise colored hair. "Oh how I long to see you again, Father." Eirika could not help the tears that were now falling freely from her lovely face. "I know that it is impossible, even with the power of the last Sacred Stone," whispered Erika against a gentle breeze.

Eirika knew very well that under no circumstances must the stone be brought out from its resting place. The power from the stone could only animate the corpse of her father, the corpse without his warm, gentle soul. Eirika wiped the tears, sighed, and thought about the times she spent happily with her father. The memories were still as vivid as ever in her mind.

"Queen Eirika...Queen Eirika..." Suddenly Eirika was startled out of her reverie by a gentle touch on her shoulder. She quickly turned around.

"Pardon me, Queen Eirika, I did not intend to frighten you so." The person who was now standing in front of Eirika was none other than the Silver Knight of Renais.

"Oh Seth…it is you." Now that she knew it was Seth, Eirika's heart began to beat rapidly as if it was about to burst forth from her chest. She blushed profusely, hoping that the Silver Knight would not think anything was amiss with her.

"Are you feeling well, Queen Eirika?" Asked the Silver Knight gently. He could not help but being worried about her. Lately, the queen had not been acting like her usual self. The Silver Knight has attributed her melancholy to the fact that her only brother, King Ephraim, was always away and often time left her by herself.

"Y-Yes I am, thank you very much for asking, Seth. You must forgive me if I did not reply immediately when you called, for I am not yet used to being called Queen." Eirika smiled sadly then continued. "In fact, if it were possible at all, I should like to be called princess once again."

Seth looked at Eirika's face for a split second before replying. "I understand, Queen Eirika. Even though your and King Ephraim's coronation has not yet been held, the people have already begun calling you King and Queen, for they are your rightful titles."

"Yes, I know…" Seth noticed that the forlorn look was now back on Eirika's face once again. The Silver Knight sighed. If only the queen knew the truth. If only she knew how he, too, wished that he could once again call her Princess. Calling her with that title always brought back warm memories….

"Seth…Seth…" Now Seth was the one that was brought back from his reverie.

"Seth, what brings you here to my garden?" Eirika smiled "You are usually busy during this time of day training the new recruits." Eirika noticed that there now, residing on Seth's handsome face, was a slightly red spot almost invisible to the eyes.

Seth coughed "Actually, the reason that I am here is because of this letter. It was brought here by a Pegasus Knight from Frelia"

Eirika took the letter from Seth and began reading:

Dear Eirika,

How are you and Ephraim? As for Innes and I, we are very busy with the rebuilding of the villages and parts of the castle that had been destroyed by the Grado armies. I am sure that you are doing the same, are you not? I am looking forward to the coronation of you and Ephraim. I am so happy, Eirika. My brother has finally realized that I am no longer his little sister and now allowed me to come help him see to the training of the new recruits. But you know Innes, his arrogance and way of speaking ended up angering some of the new recruits. With Gilliam gone to help the villages surrounding Frelia, I feel very helpless and am afraid that another war will break out, this time, between Innes and the recruits! This is not even funny. Eirika, if you can, please lend us Seth. I know that he will make a good example for Innes, and that all of the recruits respect and fear him. Only for a short time Eirika, I promise, and I will return him before the coronation. Do not worry that he will be overworked, for I have already asked Syrene, our own commander, to help him with this matter, and she seemed willing to do it. Please consider the matter.

Your friend,

Tana.

Eirika sighed once again and closed the letter. "Seth, as you heard, Tana would like your help. Will you accept it?"

"If that is your wish, Milady, I shall leave right away."

"When you have reached Frelia safely, please let me know" was all that Eirika could say.

After Seth had left, Eirika thought about the letter. "Syrene…the beautiful Pegasus Knights Commander…huh."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2:Ephraim, Restoration King

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 2: Ephraim, Restoration King

Being King was not as bad as he thought it was going to be. Ephraim thought to himself as he looked at the new set of recruits that came in today. Like Eirika, he, too, missed his father terribly. But unlike her, he was determined to never show his tears to anyone, least of all to the man that was now heading his way.

"Seth, what good timing! I was about to send Franz to get you." The young, blonde commander standing next to him smiled, and Ephraim continued. "Come meet the new recruits that had just arrived today."

"King Ephraim, Franz." Seth nodded. "Your Majesty, where are Forde and Kyle?" Seth thought that he should give these two a scolding for leaving the king to train the recruits.

"I sent those two on an errand, Seth. Please do not scold them when they come back" Smiled Ephraim before turning to the soon-to-be new soldiers. "Everybody, listen up. This is General Seth. Besides Commanders Forde, Kyle, Franz, and myself, you will also be trained by General Seth, starting today."

All the recruits looked at Seth with apparent admiration. "I am sure that most of you have already heard of General Seth and his valiance as well as his role in bringing about the Demon King's destruction. Why else would you be here if not to be trained by him? Am I correct?"

"Yes, your Majesty." All the recruits replied at once.

"But do not forget for one second that it was not General Seth alone that defeated the Demon King. It was the effort of all the people of Magvel and their pure hearts to see the world brought back to peace once more that made it happen"

"Yes, your Majesty!"

Both Ephraim and Franz were still smiling when Seth spoke. "If I may have a word with you, your Majesty."

"Of course, Seth. What troubles you, my friend?"

"My apology your Majesty, unfortunately, I will not be able to help you train the recruits, since I am being sent to Frelia by Queen Eirika."

Ephraim looked puzzled. "Eirika is sending you to Frelia? Why would she send you away, when she…" Ephraim stopped himself in time before saying something that he knew fully well would anger his sister should she learned he had said it.

"Queen Eirika was asked by Princess Tana to lend my help in training the new recruits, since Princess Tana was not certain that Prince Innes could handle it."

"Ha ha ha…Tana was right to ask for your help. I can see why she would not trust Innes with the task. Even though he has good intentions, he can be very arrogant at times, and some people might take it the wrong way. Very well, you may go, but be sure to return before the coronation." Ephraim knew just how important this would be for Eirika. "May you travel safely, Seth."

"Your Majesty." Seth nodded to Ephraim before turning to speak to Franz.

"Franz, please take good care of King Ephraim and Queen Eirika. Tell this to Forde and Kyle as well." The young commander nodded his head solemnly in reply.

After Seth had left, Ephraim turned to speak to the recruits. "Looks like you will not be trained by General Seth today, but fear not, my training will be just as merciless. General Seth will return to train you before the coronation." The new recruits smiled uneasily in response.

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Late that night,

Ephraim sat quietly in his bedchamber, deep in thoughts, before he heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Brother, may I come in?"

"Yes, you may, Eirika."

Eirika, wearing her nightgown of white cotton and laces walked in slowly as if afraid to disturb her brother. "I would like to talk to you, Ephraim."

"Yes, Eirika. Is it about Father again?" Asked Ephraim gently. He knew that Eirika still missed her father very much.

"N-No, it is not that. Actually, I think I should leave."

Ephraim noticed that Eirika was blushing and knew right away what she had come to talk to him about. Since he did not wish to embarrass his sister, he simply said. "Is it about Tana's request?"

Glad that her brother understood her, Eirika began shyly. "Well…I am sure you have already heard from Seth that his presence is being requested by Tana. She needs him to help her train the new soldiers."

"Yes, I have been informed by Seth himself." Ephraim looked worried. "Eirika, do you think that this was a good idea to send Seth to Frelia?"

Surprised, Eirika could only say "W-Why would you ask me this, brother? Of course, it was a good idea seeing that Tana and Prince Innes could not handle the new soldiers by themselves. Why, if Tana had not made the request, I would have sent Seth there myself." Eirika was breathless when she finished.

Amused that her reaction and feelings for Seth were so obvious, Ephraim chuckled and said "Calm down, Sister. I was only worried about Seth. Since the Frelian armies are bigger than our own, Seth will be worked to death."

"Oh, that." Eirika could still hear Ephraim chuckle. "Well, Seth will not be training them by himself. Syrene will be helping him."

"Syrene…hmm…you mean THE Syrene, the most beautiful and popular Pegasus Knights Commander?"

"Yes, that is the one. She is very beautiful, is she not, Brother? Since you are a man, answer me this Brother and answer me truthfully. Do you find her beautiful as well?"

"Hmm…well, she was with us when we battled the Demon King and had helped us a great deal. Yes, I suppose I do find her very beautiful although not as beautiful as my dear sister." Smiled Ephraim, and he meant what he said. Not just because she was his sister, but in truth, Eirika was the most beautiful as well as the kindest woman in all of Magvel. "Why do you ask, Eirika?"

"Well, forget I asked, Brother. If you will excuse me, I should like to go to bed now."

As soon as she had spoken those words, Eirika quickly turned and left the chamber.

Once Eirika was gone, Ephraim was back in his thoughts again. "My dear Sister, I pray that Seth does not find her beautiful as well."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3:Seth, the Silver Knight

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 3: Seth, the Silver Knight

The man many have called the Silver Knight sat silently in the Great Hall of Frelia Castle. In front of him was Prince Innes, the greatest tactician in all of Magvel. Next to him sat his only sister, Princess Tana.

"General Seth, thank you so very much for coming to our aid during this time of need. I am sorry to inform you that our father is ill, or he would have been here to welcome you himself" Began Princess Tana. "You will not believe how glad my brother and I are, now that you are here."

"Be quiet Tana, I am the prince of this kingdom. I should be the one that does the talking." Prince Innes looked at his sister sharply. "Let me begin anew by thanking you for coming on such short notice General Seth, unnecessary though the request was."

Angered that she was rebuked by Innes, Tana interrupted. "You know that a war was likely to break out if we had left you to train the new recruits, Brother. At present, it has not happened only because I was able to stop them, and you well know it! You and your foolish arrogance."

"Silence! Tana, I will not tolerate your behavior of always interrupting important conversations. I will not say it again, but this is a warning."

"Fine…whatever you say, Your Highness." The young princess pouted.

"Now Seth, back to our conversation. Since you are already here, you might as well begin training the recruits with the help of our Syrene, starting tomorrow. I cannot spare Sir Gilliam. He is in charge of leading the armies to fend off the monsters that were left behind by the Demon King in the surrounding villages. I am sure you will find Syrene quite capable and helpful. Although, you should inform the new soldiers that they are missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be trained by a great tactician such as myself." Innes looked very smug, and his sister would like very much to clobber him.

"Very well, do you have any questions?"

"No, your Majesty, I pray that King Hayden will recover very soon. As for myself, I will do my best to perform this duty."

"Good, Father Moulder, please show General Seth to his quarter."

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Before they reached the living quarters of Frelian Generals, Moulder turned around to look seriously at Seth.

"General Seth, I hope you will forgive our Prince. I know that he is coarse, but he is indeed, a good man."

"Please call me Seth, Father, and no, I do not mind. Prince Innes and I have been through a lot together, so I am used to his way by now. You are right; of course, Prince Innes is a good man. He will become a great ruler in his father's place."

"Thank you, Seth, for understanding. Ah, here is your room. I hope that it will suit you. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call for the chambermaids. Good day."

"Good day to you too, Father Moulder. Oh, if I may ask, where can I find someone to relay my message to Renais?"

Several minutes later, a Pegasus knight was shown to Seth's room to take his message to Renais. Once the messenger was gone, Seth started thinking about the message that he had written:

Your Majesties,

I have now arrived safely in Frelia. I was welcomed warmly by Prince Innes and Princess Tana. However, I must sadly inform you both that King Hayden is ill, but please do not worry, I was told by Father Moulder that His Majesty will recover very soon, for the illness is not serious. I will begin the training with the help of Commander Syrene. Presently, Sir Gilliam is not at the Castle. He is in charge of driving off the creatures that are still roaming Frelia. I hope that Forde, Kyle, and Franz are helping King Ephraim train the soldiers.

Seth

"I hope I did not leave anything out." Thought Seth aloud as he sat on a chair facing the courtyard, tired from the journey.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4:Graceful Syrene

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 4: Graceful Syrene

Syrene, the Commander of the Pegasus Knights of Frelia made her appearance at the courtyard at the back of the Castle, which also served as a training ground. Standing before her, were groups of approximately fifty new soldiers, all ready and eager in their new uniforms. Syrene sighed. "Looks like it is going to be a long day for me after all."

"And for me as well, Commander." Appeared General Seth alongside her.

"Oh, G-General Seth?" Syrene was startled that a man she had admired and worshiped for years just showed up right next to her without any warnings. "I..uh..did not expect you to arrive so soon."

Seth looked puzzled. Up close, he noticed that the tales about Syrene's beauty were not unfounded. "Were you not informed by either the Prince or the Princess that I would begin the training of the new recruits with you starting today? Queen Eirika sent me on a Pegasus to get here as soon as she had received the request from Princess Tana. I arrived in Frelia yesterday. I apologize if my early arrival has caused trouble for you."

"N-No never." Realizing that her voice was a little too loud (and right in front of the new recruits even), Syrene blushed just a little. "It is just that I am so embarrassed that I did not welcome you to Frelia myself yesterday."

"Do not worry about it. You were sent away on an errand. Now that I am here, could you please inform me how you would like to train the new soldiers?" Seth gave her a brief smile.

Syrene continued to blush. She could not believe her ears that General Seth would ask for her opinion. However, deep down she did know that a man like him would wish to respect her, since this was, after all, her territory. He certainly lived up to her expectations.

"Yes, very well…"

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Several hours later,

"You all did a superb job, considering that you are all new here. Please take a break for now. We will resume the training at exactly two hours from now." Shouted Seth, to the tired soldiers who looked like they were about to collapse.

"Thank you General Seth, for your help today. I do not think that I would have been able to do this without your help." Spoke Syrene softly.

Like the soldiers, Syrene, too, looked like she was about to drop off her horse. What could have possibly made her feel so weak today? Normally, she was able to withstand all the harsh trainings under Sir Gilliam for hours without even showing any signs of weakness.

"Do not mention it. It is my duty to help you, and please call me Seth" Smiled Seth. "It looks to me like you could use a break as well."

"Oh, but I cannot just call you Seth. It will set a bad example for the new soldiers."

Twice in the same day, Seth looked puzzled. "Why should you not call me by my name. Though I may be a General, I am but a General from another Kingdom. If you really think about it, we are equal both in ranks and responsibilities. Am I not correct?" Smiled Seth once again.

Syrene blushed profusely. She found herself unable to speak. Seth's gentle smile had caught her off guard. Never in her life, had Syrene imagined that she would be at the receiving end of such a wonderful smile from a man she so admired. After what seemed like forever, she finally managed to reply. "V-Very well, I shall call you Seth from now on, but only if we are not in the company of the soldiers. Will that suit you, General?, ah..I mean, Seth."

"Yes, and I shall call you Syrene in return." Said Seth before he rode away on the back of his brown stallion.

Syrene had always hated her name ever since she was just a child because it made her feel as if she should be acting like a saint, whose name was given to her. "I shall call you Syrene…" Repeating Syrene after Seth. "Well, what do you know? I am starting to like the sound of my name."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5:Innes, King n' Strategician

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 5: Innes, King n' Strategician

Frelia Castle

Inside one of the inner bedchambers,

"That nosy Tana." Shouted Innes before he threw one of his gloves at a row of soldier figurines that were arranged neatly on his table. "I do not care if she is my sister. This time she has gone too far."

Innes continued to throw things at the figurines, causing some of them to fall ruthlessly onto the floor. He stepped violently on one figurine before he spoke. "Just because I allowed her to help me train the soldiers, that did not give her the right to go around requesting another kingdom's help without my permission, and why of all people did it have to be THAT man?"

Innes, the future king of Frelia, was known throughout Magvel to be the best tactician, a mighty force to be reckoned with on a battlefield. His reputation continued to grow even more so, especially after the battle with the Demon King. Everybody knew how important his role was in defeating that abominable creature. It was even said among the soldiers that without Prince Innes' archery skills, Princess Eirika would not have made it through Darkling Woods.

Like the soldiers, Prince Innes, too, knew very well about his own reputation among the people. The fact that he knew about what was said behind his back had made him even more arrogant.

"How dare she assumed that another war would break out between the soldiers and I. As my sister, she should have known how much I despised that man. We did fight together with the Demon King, but that does not make us friends."

Innes walked up to a large mirror, thought about breaking it, but stopped his fist just a couple of inches from it. "Look at me, we are about the same height, same build, same everything. My birth is even higher. I am a prince of a wealthy kingdom for god's sake, so why can you not return my love. Why does it have to be that man?"

Now that he had let out his anger, Innes began to relax. He suddenly looked sad. Innes supposed that his love for her had always been there since the first time he saw her right here in this castle 8 years ago, but he just did not know that it was love then.

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Flashback: Eight years ago

"Innes…Innes, my son, where are you?"

"Father, I am right here." Spoke a young boy with silver blonde hair. The boy looked so much like his father, and he very well knew it. This fact had made him very proud. He knew that his father was a great king, no, that was not quite correct. His father was the greatest king in all of Magvel. "Father, is there something that you would like me to help you with?"

"Oh, ho ho, no, my boy, I was just wondering where you were. Your sister has been asking for you for the last two hours. She said that she could not cut the cake without you."

"Why can she not cut the cake without me? She has all her new friends to help her. Besides, the cake is not that big, that she cannot cut it on her own."

King Hayden looked puzzled. He knew that something was bothering his son. "Is there a reason why you are avoiding Tana's birthday party, Prince Innes?"

Innes knew that when his father used his title, he was serious. There was no way for him to avoid this now. Oh well, he was just going to have to tell his father the truth.

"I am not avoiding the party. It is just that I do not like THAT kid."

"Oh? And why not?"

Innes could see that his father was now smiling. He was beginning to feel really embarrassed. "He…He gave Tana a present that was better than mine"

King Hayden was now laughing heartily. "Father, it is a serious matter, and it is not funny!" Innes turned red and then continued to speak. "I spent weeks making it. I carved it out of the oak wood that Captain Gilliam had found for me behind our castle. She said she wanted it, and HE went and spoiled it"

Once more, King Hayden looked puzzled. "What was your gift, Innes?"

Innes was uncomfortable, but he managed to open his mouth. "Well, it was a wooden horse, which I modeled after your horse, Father, but that Prince Ephraim went and gave her a real horse! Can you believe that guy? Tana was so overjoyed, that she practically threw my gift away."

"Ha ha ha ha ha." King Hayden was laughing again. This time, with more force. It took him several minutes before he finally calmed down enough to wipe the tears off his face.

"Son, do not be angry, your sister is only ten after all. You are much older than she is. Well, two years to be exact. You should know what a real life horse would do to, not just Tana, but to anyone. When she is older Innes, she will come to realize just how important you gift was. Now, come, we must go see the twins. Fado and I are good friends after all, so you should get to know his children."

"Twins?" This time, it was Innes' turn to look puzzled. "What twins are you talking about, Father? I thought that Ephraim was an only child."

King Hayden placed a hand on his son's head. "Prince Ephraim has a twin sister. Her name is Princess Eirika. She must have gone to pick flowers in our garden. That was why you missed seeing her this morning. Now, be nice when you see them."

Prince Innes was walking quietly alongside his father. He was thinking to himself. 'I bet she looks just as bad as that boy, Ephraim.'

Before long, Innes found out just how wrong he was. As soon as he saw her, he thought to himself that Ephraim did not deserve a sister like Eirika. And the more he saw how close the two were, the more he detested the prince. He, himself, did not quite understand why, since he had never felt so strongly about anything like this before….

End flashback

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Innes smiled when he thought what a fool he had been then. Of course, it was love. How else would he explain his own reaction when he saw her with another man, even if that man was her own brother? He supposed that his love for her grew even more when she had saved him in Carcino, and traveling with her afterwards had finally made him realize just how much she meant to him.

However, once he realized that he was in love with her, he began to notice that she was not returning his feelings. It must be a curse. 'When you are in love with someone, you become more aware of that person's actions and feelings'.

Innes later learned that Eirika had already given her whole heart to somebody else and that person was not him. It could never be him. It was THAT man.

Innes started to pick up the figurines that he dropped on the floor. However, before he could pick them up, a single voice broke the silence that had filled the room.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6:Kyle, Ardent Knight

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 6: Kyle, Ardent Knight and Forde, the Wild Knight

"Man, oh man, why is it so hot today? Riding in this heat sure is no fun." Exclaimed a blonde haired knight of Renais. Riding next to him was also a fellow knight with moss colored hair.

"Stop complaining, Forde. It was a personal order from our king. It is our duty to carry it out." The knight looked sharply at his friend.

"Aw, lighten up Kyle. I was just complaining about the weather, not about the order from our dear, beloved King. You know me, I will, of course, see it through to the end, even if it will cause me my life." Forde made a dramatic gesture with his hands.

Kyle rolled his eyes upward. "I understand that today is very humid, but we are almost there. In fact, we can actually see it from here. See, there it is. It is not very far now, so shut it and keep moving."

"Sir, yes sir!" Smiled Forde lazily.

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Flashback: 3 days ago, at Renais Castle

King Ephraim had summoned two of his most trusted knights to his chamber. The moment that the two walked into the room, they knew right away that something was troubling the young king.

"Pssst, Kyle, what do you think it is this time?" Spoke Forde, loudly, knowing quite well that the king could hear him. However, his fellow knight was not in the mood to play along.

"Will you cut it out? This is a serious matter. Can you not see that the king is troubled by something?"

"You are as sharp as ever, Kyle. I am indeed troubled by something. I was hoping that you two might be able to help me with this matter." Spoke the King wearily.

"Just tell us what we have to do, Your Majesty. Forde and I will be honored to do it."

Kyle elbowed his friend, signaling him to say something. "Why, yes, we will be happy to do it, Your Majesty" Smiled Forde sheepishly. "So, tell us, Eph-er, I mean, King Ephraim."

Ephraim could not help but smile at the duo. "Ahem, then let me begin. As you two already know, Eirika and I will be officially crowned in two months. Since this is a very important time in Eirika's life, I would like to give her a gift to signify the event. This gift is something that I know for certain would please Eirika immensely. My father had promised to give it to her once she becomes queen. It would mean so much to her to have it on the coronation day. However, what troubled me was how to obtain this object." Ephraim sighed.

Silence fell in the room. Kyle broke it by saying. "Since you are sending both of us to retrieve this one object, I understand that this task will not be easy, but fear not, my King, we will see to it. We would be honored to do this for Queen Eirika."

This time, Kyle did not have to elbow him. Forde promptly spoke. "If it concerns the happiness of Queen Eirika and you, consider it done."

"I sincerely thank you two, but before you march off to get this object, I would like you to hear first what must be done in order to obtain it. Who knows? After hearing this you might change your mind." Ephraim smiled uneasily.

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Back to the present,

"Being here sure brings back memories, does it not?" Spoke Kyle softly before he looked at the village that lay in waste right in front of him. Being here in Grado tended to remind him of the times when he had fought the Demon King and his minions with Princess Eirika. To him, she was the goddess of victory. With her there, fighting by his side, Kyle felt that he could do anything. He could give his life for her…

"Yo, Kyle…Kyle, are you here?" Forde waved his hand frantically in front of Kyle's face.

Kyle was annoyed. "What do you think you are doing, Forde? Let us get going already."

"What? Hey, I was not the one that was spacing out. Speaking of which, what were you thinking about anyway?"

"As if I would tell you." Kyle looked at Forde briefly before he yanked the reign of his horse and rode away leaving Forde behind, still puzzled. "H-Hey, wait for me!"

The two knights knew very well the danger involved in this mission to retrieve this sacred relic.

Remembering the words of King Ephraim: "First of all, you two must visit Knoll and ask him for instructions. He should be able to help you with this. This ancient relic that you must retrieve has a spell cast on it by a very powerful sage of old according to my father, in order to prevent the dark forces from acquiring it. This relic has been passed on from one generation of Renais royalties to another since the ancient time. This relic is to be used strictly by the queen of Renais during her coronation, and it must be put back in its resting place once the ceremony is over. From what I have heard, this relic is very powerful. Its power rivals that of the Sacred Stones, and because of this, it is going to be tough taking it out from its resting place. Unfortunately, all of my Father's sages perished during the invasion by Grado armies; otherwise, we would not have to ask Knoll for help. Be very careful, you two."

"Finally caught up with you." Forde looked just as tired as his horse. "Well, here we are, Kyle."

Both Kyle and Forde were now standing right in front of the gate of Grado Keep.

"Should we knock first, Kyle?"

TBC


	7. Chapter 7:Silent Gilliam

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 7: Silent Gilliam

Sir Gilliam, a man whose imposing countenance struck fear in many hearts finally came back to Frelia Castle after months of battling with the foul creatures that the abominable Demon King had left behind.

Although he would not admit this openly to anyone, Gilliam was sick of seeing the destruction that those vile creatures caused to the villages. So many people were killed and hurt, especially the children. It was very depressing for him to have to see all of that.

His small army could only help drive a small number of creatures away since he did not have many experienced soldiers with him. Many had died during the war; most of them were either his friends or the soldiers that he had trained himself.

Gilliam was certain that the creatures would come back. If only he could dispatch some of his soldiers to constantly watch over the villages, but sadly, not a single soldier could be spared, since Frelia Castle was still vulnerable to attacks. This fact frustrated him and made him depressed even more.

The sight that greeted him at the Castle caught him by surprise. Standing in the courtyard were two figures. One of which was a woman. He had no trouble recognizing that figure, but the other figure, a man, he could not quite place it.

What surprised him was not this figure, but the expression on Syrene's face. The beautiful Syrene was smiling, actually smiling and laughing with this man! Lately, Syrene, like himself, had been depressed about the situation with the villages that had been attacked by the monsters, and had stopped smiling. But now, Gilliam could not believe his eyes. She was back to her old self, no not quite. If possible, she had become more beautiful than the last time he had seen her. What could have changed her so?

Then, the mysterious figure turned around to greet him.

"Sir Gilliam, it is good to see you again."

Overcome again by surprise, Gilliam could only utter. "Seth."

"Yes, how are you, Sir Gilliam? It must have been tough for you these past few months."

Gilliam composed himself before he spoke. "Yes, we do not have enough experienced soldiers to spare in order to watch over the villages." He then turned to Syrene. "This is why we have Syrene train the new soldiers. Hopefully, they will be ready by next month."

Syrene smiled. "Sir Gilliam, we all missed you. It is good that you came back safe and sound."

Gilliam looked at Syrene as if to say something but decided against it. "Thank you, Syrene. How is the training coming along? I see that you have many new soldiers. Are you able to handle them all by yourself?"

"Since you left before Prince Innes had a chance to tell you, you did not know that Princess Tana had sent a letter to Queen Eirika asking her to lend Seth to help me train the new recruits. I am so grateful for his help." Syrene turned to Seth and smiled.

Gilliam noticed that the two had already dropped the titles and were now referring to each other by their first names. "I see. Thank you, Seth, for helping Syrene. Now that I am back, I will be able to help with the training as well."

"Oh, no, you must first get some rest, Sir Gilliam." Syrene protested. "You just got back after all. Seth and I can handle things here, so please do not worry."

"Syrene is right. You just got back from a long battle, you need to rest and recover your strength. Please leave everything to us."

"Once again, I thank you two for worrying about me. I will take your advice and rest, but once I am done, I will; nevertheless, come back and help. Good day." Gilliam walked away before Syrene could protest again.

"The handsome Silver Knight and the beautiful Pegasus Knights Commander." Gilliam sighed. "Sounds better than the old Silent General and the beautiful Pegasus Knights Commander, does it not?" Now there was one more reason for Gilliam to be depressed about.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8:Tana, Winged Queen

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 8: Tana, Winged Queen

Now that the problem with training the new recruits had been solved, Tana could finally relax in her room. "Aaah, it is so nice being a princess." Tana spoke, her face buried in one of the many soft pillows on her bed. Then, she seemed to remember something.

"But being that arrogant knucklehead's sister is no fun. When is he going to understand that I really wanted to help him out? I did not invite General Seth here to upset his male ego. As a prince, he should have known that he was needed for other matters, which took priorities before training the soldiers. Besides, his hotheaded way was going to get him killed. Could he not have seen how worried I was for his well being?"

Tana threw a pillow at the window without knowing that it was not properly locked, so the pillow fell out the window. "Oops, that is the courtyard below. Oh my god, I am going to get in trouble again. I hope I did not hit anyone's head."

Tana slowly peeked outside the window to see where the pillow had landed. She did not see the pillow, but she did see something that she thought was quite perplexing.

"Hey, that is Syrene. What is she doing in the courtyard this time of night? The training was over hours ago."

As soon as Tana spoke this sentence, another figure appeared. She recognized the figure to be that of General Seth. "Wait a minute, General Seth? What is going on here? Do not tell me she was waiting for General Seth. Please tell me that Seth did not sneak out of his room to meet Syrene at night. It just cannot be true."

Tana would not have panicked like this had she not known beforehand that her close friend, Eirika, was in love with Seth. Eirika did not have to tell Tana directly that she was in love with her knight. They have been friends for so long, that Tana could actually sense this kind of thing from Eirika.

"What am I going to do now? Wait, maybe I am just overreacting. Maybe they are just meeting to go over something that has to do with the training tomorrow." Tana twitched her nose. "Oh, come on Tana, do not be foolish. They are not meeting to go over some stupid plans to train soldiers. They could have done that during the day! I cannot stay here anymore. I have got to go find out for my friend's sake. I am not called nosy Tana for nothing."

Tana put on her black cloak and snuck out of the bedchamber trying to avoid Innes on her way, since his bedchamber was right across from hers.

Outside, the air was slightly cooler than during the day, but it was still hot. "Geez, I have to wear a cloak in this heat? Oh well, it is for Eirika. Eirika you owe me big time."

Tana could make out the two figures in front of her. Tonight was a full moon. She needed to get closer in order to hear what they were talking about. She could see that the two moved to stand next to the stable, and a couple of feet away was an empty barrel.

Perfect, Tana thought, this would make an ideal spot for her to hide and listen in on their conversation. Tana moved quietly…

"I am so sorry Seth, for asking you to meet me at this hour. I do realize that you must be tired and wanting to rest."

"Do not worry about it. I am fine. I am used to this, so there is no problem. Is there something that I can do for you, Syrene? Are you troubled by something?"

Oh, only if Seth knew how many sleepless nights she had to go through before she could finally make up her mind. She had to do it tonight. "Uh, well, the thing is, er…" Syrene was so nervous and scared that she even thought about running away, but she knew that it would not be a good idea. She did not wish to anger Seth; although, she doubted that a man like him would be angry for such a childish behavior.

"What is it, Syrene?" Seth spoke calmly.

Syrene thought to herself. 'Well, there is no turning back now, so just say it.' Syrene summoned up her courage and began.

"General Seth, we fought together during the war with the Demon King and now we have been training the soldiers together for almost a month now. At this point, may I assume that we know each other quite well?" Syrene looked earnestly at Seth for an answer.

"Yes, you may." Seth's answer was so simple. Syrene felt like she should stop talking now. "Then, I would like to ask you a very personal question. I hope you will not mind." Syrene did not dare look at his face.

Seth simply replied. "Go ahead."

"Well, during the war, you battled alongside Princess, I mean, Queen Eirika. You even got injured protecting her. What do you think of her, Seth?"

The silence that followed made Syrene wish she had never uttered those words.

Seth finally spoke. "Queen Eirika was very brave and determined. I could not prevent her from entering the battles. It was my sworn duty to serve and protect not just Queen Eirika but King Ephraim as well. Getting injured was part of my duty. I would never desert my post and would gladly give up my life protecting them."

Again, silence fell between them.

"That was not what I meant, Seth. What I meant was…what do you think of Queen Eirika as a woman? Do you…have any feelings for her at all?"

Before Seth had a chance to reply came a loud crashing in the direction of an empty barrel. Both immediately turned around drawing their swords while doing so. They were surprised by the sight that greeted them. It was Princess Tana! The princess was covered partly in a black cloak. Clearly she had been hiding in the barrel listening in on their conversation.

It was Seth who spoke first. "Princess, please allow me to pull you up." Seth gave Tana a hand to pull her out from the fallen barrel. Tana was clearly embarrassed that she was caught in the act of eavesdropping.

"T-Thank you very much, Seth. I, uh…, have to go to bed now." Tana was ready to run away, but Seth put a hand on the princess' shoulder gently to stop her.

"Not so fast, Princess. Before you leave, I would like to say something to you."

Tana knew that Seth was going to give her a big scolding just like her brother always did when she did something foolish. However, Seth did not do that, instead he just told her gently. "Princess, please do not ever repeat what you just did, for you could have gotten seriously hurt tonight had Syrene and I not stopped our swords in time."

Tana was surprised, but managed to say. "Thank you so very much, Seth, and I am truly sorry. Please do not tell my brother what happened tonight."

"I will not, if you will grant me my request, your highness."

Tana could see that she got herself in this mess, and it was her own fault that she got caught. The stupid barrel was so uncomfortable. "Yes, you have my words Seth, now may I go?"

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Tana just ran and never looked back until she got to her own room and locked the door.

"Oh my god, this is serious. I have got to warn Eirika about this."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9:Duessel, Obsidian General

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 9: Duessel, Obsidian General

Grado Keep

In the Great Hall of Grado Keep stood a large man wearing a deep red armor. This man was well known among the soldiers as the Obsidian General. From the look on his face, he was seriously troubled by something. He looked at the empty throne and sighed.

"It has already been 3 months since the Great Battle with the Demon King, so why is it that I still feel ill at ease whenever I chanced to look at the throne."

As soon as he had said these words, a man wearing a black robe appeared from one of the enormous black pillars. He had blended in perfectly with the pillars, that his presence was not noticeable until he spoke quietly. "Could it be because you would soon like the people to select a new king to rule Grado, General Duessel?"

"Knoll." Spoke General Duessel calmly, not at all affected by the sudden appearance of the druid.

"It is true that I have been overseeing to the reconstruction of the castle and the kingdom as a whole, but I am not a king. I seriously think that in order to unite our people and bring back those that have fled Grado during the war, a king is needed. The people need to know that they will be ruled by someone that they can trust and respect, someone that will bring back prosperity to this kingdom."

"General, I believe that someone is you. I trust and respect you. I know that with your experience and knowledge, you can restore this land to its former glory, no, even better than before."

"Knoll…I." Before General Duessel could say anything further, a soldier came rushing into the hall with urgent news.

"General, there are two knights from Renais requesting a permission to speak with both you and Sir Knoll. I had them wait for you in the courtyard, sir."

"Thank you. Please inform them that Knoll and I will be there shortly." Duessel then turned to speak with Knoll. "From Renais huh? What could have prompted them to come visit us? To be honest with you, for the past couple to days, I have been feeling ill at ease, as if something bad is about to happen, but I just do not know what. Do you think that it has anything to do with this visit?"

Knoll simply replied. "Perhaps."

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In the courtyard,

"How long are they going to have us wait out here, Kyle? Did I mention to you how hot today is? Man, oh man, if they do not let us see General Duessel and Sir Knoll soon, I am just going to march up there and kick some a." Forde spoke impatiently. Apparently, the heat had gotten to him.

Unlike his fellow knight, Kyle appeared to be calm and collected, not affected by the heat. "Would you just watch your foul language, Forde? Let me remind you that for me, having to tolerate you and your complaining is worse than being in this weather."

Forde pretended to look hurt. He was ready to open his mouth to complain some more when he noticed that the door leading to the Main Hall opened, and two people were coming toward them. He noticed immediately that the two people were General Duessel and Sir Knoll.

Surprisingly, it was Knoll that spoke first. "Welcome to Grado, Sir Forde." He then turned to Kyle. "Sir Kyle. I am so glad to see you two again."

"So are we, Sir Knoll. How are you and General Duessel? It has been so long since Forde and I saw both of you."

General Duessel smiled briefly before he spoke. "Glad to see you two again. I am fine, thank you, Sir Kyle, for asking. What brings you two here to Grado if you do not mind my asking? Since you both did not just send a messenger and chose to be here yourselves, I supposed that the matter must be urgent."

It was Forde's turn to speak. "Nothing escaped you, General. Yes, you are right. The matter is serious and we would like your assistance in this. I will leave the details to Kyle to explain to you."

"Please come in, both of you. We must not discuss this out here, for the walls have ears. Knoll, please show them to the Great Library. I will be there myself shortly."

After the company had left, Duessel turned to speak with one of the soldiers standing guard near the door. "My guests and I will be in the Great Library, please do not let anyone disturb us." To which, the soldier promptly replied. "Yes sir."

To himself, Duessel quietly spoke. "I hope I was wrong about this visit."

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In the Great Library,

Both Kyle and Forde were seated in the middle of the room at a large oak table. The library was three stories high. There were dusty old books and maps everywhere they looked.

Forde looked uncomfortable. Reading was not his favorite hobby. It was Kyle that broke the silence. "Let me begin by telling you that both Forde and I are here on a request by King Ephraim. As you already know, the coronation of our king and queen will be held in about less than two months. In has been a custom in the Renais royal household to give the kingdom's sacred relic to the queen on her coronation day. However, you might have already suspected. This sacred relic is not easily obtained and it had been put back in its resting place after the late queen's coronation. The relic itself has a very power spell cast on it by an ancient sage, and on top of that, its resting place is well guarded in order to prevent the dark forces from obtaining it. Our own sages who helped put the relic away had already perished during the invasion of the castle. King Ephraim had specifically instructed both of us to seek help from Sir Knoll."

Silence fell. Both General Duessel and Knoll seemed to be deep in thoughts. Finally, Knoll spoke. "I see. I would be glad to assist you in obtaining this relic. I know exactly where it is located. It would be a full day journey to get to its resting place. We should leave early tomorrow morning if we plan to get there before dark, and I suggest we DO get there before dark."

Duessel looked troubled but managed to speak. "I must apologize, but I will not be joining you on this journey, for there are several matters regarding the surrounding villages that I must take care of. I do hope that you will forgive me. Please take care of them, Knoll, and travel safely."

However, as soon as Duessel spoke these words, a loud crash could be heard coming from the Great Hall. In response, all four rushed to see what happened.

The four soon found out the source of the sound. Lying on the carpeted floor was the marble throne. It looked as though it had been pushed by a very strong force, which broke it in half.

General Duessel could not believe his eyes. "This is a bad omen."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10:Franz the Faithful

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 10: Franz the Faithful

A young commander with short blonde hair sat silently on a stool near the stable. He seemed to be deep in thoughts. In his head, he was trying to recall the event that took place about a month ago. He, himself, did not understand why, he had not been able to stop thinking about it. It had been bothering him to no end.

It all started when a Pegasus Knight from Frelia came to deliver a message from General Seth to Queen Eirika and King Ephraim. Both were having their afternoon tea in the garden behind the castle and had asked him to join them. Now that he had time to think about that day, he wished that he had not been present when the queen received the message.

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Flashback: One month ago

"Queen Eirika, I had been asked by General Seth to deliver this message to you."

Eirika looked at the letter that the Pegasus Knight was holding and smiled. "I thank you very much for bringing this letter to me. You may leave, for I do not wish to send anything back. Please take care and travel back safely."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Once the messenger had left, Eirika turned to speak with the young commander.

"Franz, would you mind very much if I read the letter here? I know for certain that Seth would have something to say to you."

Franz looked embarrassed. He did not expect Queen Eirika to ask him for permission and managed to reply shyly. "N-No, not at all, Your Highness. Please do as you wish."

"Very well." Eirika opened the letter and began reading it aloud. Once she was done, Franz noticed that his queen looked upset although he could not imagine why. The message did not contain any bad news; nevertheless, he was concerned. Franz wanted to ask Eirika what was wrong with her, but before he was able to sum up his courage, Ephraim spoke. "Eirika, what is the matter?"

Eirika could only smile weakly in return. "Nothing is wrong, brother. It is just that…." Eirika looked briefly at Franz before continued. "Seth did not have a lot to say to me. He practically left me out of the letter, and here I have been very worried about him."

Franz was feeling uncomfortable. At that moment, he did not wish to be there listening to what he thought should have been a private conversation between Eirika and Ephraim.

Apparently, Ephraim did not mind. He smiled brightly at his sister. "Eirika, please do not be upset with Seth. You know as well as I do that Seth is not a man of many words. Do you not remember that during the battle with the Demon King and his minions, he rarely spoke to me even though I was fighting by his side?"

Eirika remembered the battle very well. "Yes, brother, but that was different. Both of you were concentrating on the fights at hand. There was never enough time for any of us to relax. It was one battle after another. I do understand that Seth is a man of few words, but at least…" Eirika could not bring herself to finish the sentence.

Suddenly, Ephraim turned to speak to Franz. "Well, do you agree with me Franz? I do not think that Seth intentionally left her out."

Caught off guard, Franz could only say "I-I, uh, do not know, your Majesty." As soon as he had said it, he turned around to look at Eirika. The look on her beautiful face made him want to bang his head several times on the marble table.

Ephraim noticed that he had unintentionally embarrassed his knight and also upset his sister. He thought that he should change the subject immediately. "Eirika, is it not almost time for your regular visit with the villagers?"

Glad that Ephraim understood him, Franz quickly spoke. "If you do not mind, Queen Eirika, I shall like to accompany you."

Eirika smiled at Franz. "I do not mind at all Franz, thank you very much, and thank you Brother, for reminding me. I shall be back before our dinner. Please keep this letter for me." Eirika got up, handed the letter to Ephraim and walked away.

Franz was about to follow her when Ephraim stopped him. "I do not wish to be blunt, but Franz, you do know how my sister feels about Seth, do you not? You are one of my close friends. You may be frank with me just as I am with you."

Caught off guard twice in one day, Franz blushed and stammered. "W-W-Why yes, I-I believe I do know what is going on." Franz was wishing to god at that moment that Ephraim did not notice that he was blushing, but of course Ephraim did, being an intelligent man that he was. Nothing really escaped him, especially when the matter concerned his sister.

"I have known this for sometime, but please, do not worry, Your Majesty. I would never do anything to further aggravate the Queen and her feelings."

Ephraim nodded his head and continued. "I know Franz. You are very loyal to both Eirika and I. I just wanted you to, perhaps, keep an eye on her. I know that my sister is very stubborn and determined. Once she decides to do something, she sticks with it. Even though I am her brother, I cannot always know precisely what she is thinking.

Ephraim sighed. "In other words, I just do not know how serious her feeling toward Seth is. So, I am asking you to watch over her and maybe talk to her when you think she needed someone to talk to. Can you do that for me?"

Franz was more than glad to carry out this duty. Following Queen Eirika wherever she went was not at all a bad idea. "Yes, Your Majesty. I will do my best."

End flashback

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Franz sighed. Even since that day, he had been following Queen Eirika around. Eirika had gone mostly to the villages that had been badly damaged during the battle with the Demon King. During this time, he had kept a close watch on the Queen. If Eirika had known and been uncomfortable with it, she did not say a word, and Franz was glad, for he would have hated to explain to her the reason.

Being so close with her these past few weeks had made him realize just how fortunate General Seth was, and how much he envied him.

Suddenly, Franz noticed that Queen Eirika had left the courtyard and was now heading toward the garden. He followed.

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In the garden,

Hiding himself behind one of the many rose bushes, Franz could clearly see that Eirika was not alone in the garden. She was with a Pegasus Knight. Judging from the color of the armor, he must be a messenger from Frelia.

The messenger handed Eirika a letter. After Eirika thanked him, he took off. Eirika opened the letter, but before she had a chance to read it, Franz noticed that there was something moving in the rose bush right next to her. It was a snake!

From his hiding place, he could not tell what kind of snake it was. For all he knew, it could have been a common garden snake, but it could have also easily been a python or a cobra, one of those poisonous snakes he had read about in the book. He had got to get the Queen away from it! How was he to accomplish this task? If he moved too suddenly, the snaked would surely strike her. There was only one choice left.

Franz moved quietly towards Eirika. He could tell that she did not notice either him or the snake. The snake had moved back in the bush, but it did not go away. Now was his chance. He grabbed Eirika from behind, putting one hand over her mouth.

Eirika was about to scream, but Franz quickly spoke in her ear. "Pardon me, Queen Eirika. Please do not scream, and move slowly away from the rose bush, for I spotted a brown snake moving underneath it."

Realizing that it was Franz, Eirika quietly complied.

Once the two were a good twenty feet away from the bush, Franz let go of Eirika.

"I really must apologize, your Majesty. What I did to you was…"

Eirika quickly interrupted him. "Please, Franz. There was no need for you to apologize. You had to do what you did in order to save my life. I thank you very much."

Franz noticed that Eirika was not looking at him when she spoke. "Are you feeling well, your Majesty? Your face is red."

Eirika suddenly looked up and smiled shyly. "I am well, Franz. I believe that it was time for me to go back to my room." Eirika did not even give Franz a chance to say anything and started walking away.

Franz opened his mouth to stop Eirika, but a sudden thought struck him. He had just barely realized why the Queen's face was red.

He did not have to hold on to her for as long as he had! Once they were a couple of feet away, he could have let her go, but he did not.

It was Franz's turn to blush. What had he done? How was he to look at the Queen again? But before Franz had a chance to hit himself in the head, he happened to notice a letter that Eirika had dropped next to the rose bush. Franz went to pick it up. The letter was already opened. It was very tempting for him to read it, but Franz knew that he must not. He was about to put it away when he noticed General Seth's name on it.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11:Vanessa, Dutiful Rider

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 11: Vanessa, Dutiful Rider

A young captain of the Pegasus Knights of Frelia sat silently in the Great Hall of the Frelia Castle, patiently waiting for Prince Innes and Princess Tana to make their appearance. The young captain had just gotten back from the desert kingdom of Jehanna after having been stationed there for a few months by the order of the king himself, in order to aid in the reconstruction of the destroyed villages. Since most people in Jehanna had either died or been seriously wounded during the war with the Demon King, the kingdom desperately needed all the help it could get. The young King of Jehanna, Joshua, still had a lot to learn if he wished to govern his country properly so that it may, once again, flourish just like during the reign of Queen Ismaire. Currently, the King was being trained and instructed in the government of his country by a sage from Caer Pelyn.

The young captain did not know the sage very well even though they had traveled and fought together during the war. "It was because he rarely spoke." The captain whispered to herself, sighed, and continued. "He kept pretty much to himself and never expressed his emotions; although, he seemed to be very knowledgeable and wise. Also, many believed the sage to be a man of wisdom, so I should have nothing to worry about."

Despite her own reassurance, the captain was worried. She was wondering how the King and the sage got along, especially since they were completely opposite. She would not have left Jehanna had it not been for King Joshua. He had assured her that she had helped him and his country tremendously, but her service was no longer necessary, and that she was needed back in Frelia. She began to wonder what King Hayden would say if he heard that she had come back disobeying his command.

Before the young captain had time to ponder more on the matter, Prince Innes walked into the Great Hall, his sister following not far behind.

The young captain was glad to see the Princess once again since the two were good friends. She was about to smile when she was shocked by the dramatic change in the Prince's countenance. Prince Innes had been known by many of his subordinates as a man who rarely smiled, but despite that, the Prince was kind. He never once had a stern look on his face, but he was having one now. This was not the only change that the captain noticed. Today, the Prince was dressed entirely in black with a tint of red unlike his usual garment of silver gray and white. What could have happened during the time that she had been gone to change him so? The captain wondered but did not dare look at the Prince.

It was Princess Tana who spoke first. "I am so very glad that you came back safe and sound, Vanessa. I have been worried since I never heard from you"

Vanessa looked at the Princess and smiled. "I thank you, Your Highness, for your concern. My sincerest apology, but Jehanna was short on soldiers let alone Pegasus Knights to deliver my messages. There was no way that I could have sent a soldier to Frelia. Their men were not experienced enough to take on such a long journey."

Tana just smiled and said. "There was no need for you to apologize to me. The situation in Jehanna must have been very severe. But since you came back, does this mean that Jehanna is doing well now?"

"The kingdom is now faring quite well under the reign of King Joshua who is now being trained and instructed by the Great Sage Saleh. Even though I had initially objected to coming back to Frelia and had insisted on staying to help with the villages, King Joshua would not hear any of it. He had assured me that my service, though greatly appreciated, was no longer needed in Jehanna. He insisted that I come straight back to Frelia, for more work still needed to be done here."

At that moment, Prince Innes who had been staring intensely at Vanessa ever since he entered the room suddenly spoke. "So you came running back when that bastard told you to? Which kingdom do you serve, Captain? I expected better than this from you."

Vanessa was shocked, not because she was scolded for deserting her post and disobeying the King's command, but because of the voice coming from the man that was now standing in front of her. She could not believe her ears. Prince Innes' voice was so cold and filled with such hatred! Vanessa could not explain it, but instinctively she knew that something was definitely wrong. She was certain that the Princess noticed this as well but chose to remain silent, which was very unusual for Princess Tana who always spoke her mind.

Prince Innes continued to stare intensely at Vanessa as if he would like to hit her, but Vanessa knew that Prince Innes would never strike a woman. Nevertheless, Vanessa felt uncomfortable.

"Vanessa, you must be very tired. You need not resume your duty right away. You must get some rest first." Tana moved closer and placed a hand on Vanessa's shoulder.

Vanessa noticed that Tana looked upset. Something was bothering her.

Vanessa nodded her head. "Yes, Your Highness. I will do as you command."

But before Vanessa could walk away, Tana whispered softly. "Oh Vanessa, I have so much to say to you. Please come see me after you are well rested."

"What were you whispering to the Captain about, Sister? Am I that untrustworthy to hear what you had to say?" Innes sneered.

Normally, this would start a heated argument between the siblings, but today, Tana only replied weakly, "N-Nothing, Brother. I just wanted Vanessa to know that I missed her very much these past couple of months."

The abrupt change in Innes' expression was startling. "That is enough! Must I remind you of your station? I am so sick of this." Innes was visibly very angry with his sister. "I will no longer tolerate your behavior. From now on, you are not to behave in such a friendly manner towards the captain of our Pegasus Knights. If anyone were to find out that my sister, a princess of a wealthy and powerful kingdom no less, associated herself with a mere commoner, captain or not, I would be embarrassed, so do keep that in mind."

Innes turned to look at Vanessa and spoke coldly "You are dismissed, Captain."

Vanessa could not, for the life of her, fathom what was happening, but since she did not dare anger the Prince any longer, she simply replied "Yes, Your Highness" and walked away heading to her own bedchamber, regretting that she had to leave the Princess to face her brother's wrath alone.

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In the bedchamber,

Vanessa was tossing and turning in her bed. She could not rest her mind and forget what just took place in the Great Hall. Instead of trying to go to sleep, she tried to remember the words that King Joshua had spoken to her just two days ago back in Jehanna:

"Vanessa, I understand that you had been sent by King Hayden himself to aid me in the reconstruction of my kingdom, and for that I am very grateful."

"Your Majesty, there was no need. It was my duty, and it was an honor to serve you." 

Joshua smiled. "Well, I thank you nonetheless. With the way my luck is going, it looks like it will take some time before the kingdom is well again."

Joshua had not forgotten his old habit, and occasionally he would take out his lucky coin and begin tossing it in the air, which he was doing now.

"I understand that my kingdom is unstable, and that currently it needs the aid from other kingdoms." Joshua looked up in the sky. Tonight was not a full moon and many stars were visible from the balcony where he and Vanessa were standing.

"Are they not beautiful? When I used to travel from place to place, I would look up at the stars and let them guide me."

Vanessa was not certain where the conversation was headed, but out of respect for King Joshua, she followed along and looked up at the sky as well.

"Yes, I suppose they are, Your Majesty. Although, I do not understand what this had to do with governing your kingdom"

Joshua suddenly laughed. "Ha ha ha ha, oh Vanessa, you are ever so serious. If you were not a captain of an army, I would kiss you silly." Joshua could not stop laughing.

Vanessa turned red. She was puzzled. She did not think what she said was funny. After all, it was the truth.

Joshua managed to calm himself down. "Ahem, sorry for my outburst, but I just could not help myself. I promise that I will not laugh anymore."

Vanessa doubted Joshua, since it was obvious that he was about to have another fit of laughter. However, his expression changed abruptly.

"Now, you might be wondering why I had asked you to come see me tonight." Joshua looked at Vanessa and waited for her confirmation. Once she nodded her head, he proceeded. "As you are well aware, Saleh is a wise man, a great sage. With his powers, he is able to sense and know things that have not happened."

Vanessa nodded her head again before Joshua continued. "Today, he told me that he had been sensing evil presence in Frelia for some time. He did not approach me with this matter immediately since he had thought that the monsters roaming around Frelia were the source of the evil presence that he felt. However, as the time passed, the evil presence did not diminish but continued to grow, and that worried him. He suggested to me that I send you back to Frelia to find out the source of this evil power, and I agreed with him. As I have said before, I really appreciated what you have done for my kingdom, but this urgent matter needs to be resolved immediately, so I am sending you back to Frelia tomorrow morning."

Vanessa did not want to abandon her duty. She was about to protest when Joshua put a hand up to stop her. "Please understand this, Vanessa. I cannot be selfish and keep you here. At present, your kingdom needs you, so you must go." Joshua smiled sadly.

Vanessa nodded her head, "I will leave for Frelia tomorrow morning, Your Majesty," and walked away. Had she turned around to look at Joshua, she would have seen the look of worry on his face.

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Back to the present, Vanessa's bedchamber

Vanessa sighed. "The evil presence in Frelia. Could the changes in Prince Innes' behavior have anything to do with this?" With that thought in her head, she finally fell asleep.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12:L'Arachel, Queen of Light

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 12: L'Arachel, Queen of Light

A young maiden with light green hair was riding on top of a brown stallion. Walking alongside her was a man in his early forties carrying a large, heavy axe. To people who chanced upon these two, only one thought passed through their minds: The man was a bandit who had just captured a beautiful girl from some poor village that he had just raided, and now he was taking his prize back to the bandit hideout. Oh, they could not have been more wrong.

"Dozla, which way do you think we should be heading today?" The young woman smiled brilliantly at the man. "Since we are in Grado, I figured that there must be many villages that could use my wisdom and benefit from my beauty and guidance."

The man started laughing a hearty laugh. "Ha ha ha ha ha, Princess, your wisdom never failed to impress me. As a matter of fact, I have already asked the villagers to show me the most dangerous place in all of Grado, and they all pointed in one direction." Dozla pointed his finger. "We should be heading west. The villagers said that not far from where we are, in that direction, there should be a hidden cave. The cave was said to have been a resting place of a powerful, ancient relic. It is near that place that many monsters and evil creatures still roam freely."

The princess nodded her head and smiled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let us be on our way."

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Meanwhile,

"Are we almost there, Kyle? I do not think that I can walk anymore." The young knight of Renais was visibly out of breath. His face was red and his blonde hair was damp from sweating.

"You mean that your horse can no longer walk and that you would like to stop and take a nap." Snapped his fellow knight. "Forde, you have been doing nothing but complaining ever since we left Grado Keep." The knight with moss-colored hair was not angry. After all, he was used to his friend's habit. However, he was annoyed. The closer they got to their destination, the more uncomfortable he began to feel. He turned around to speak to the druid riding next to him.

"Sir Knoll, if I understand correctly, we are not very far from this cave that you spoke of. Am I correct?"

The druid nodded his head and spoke in his quiet voice. "Yes, it is behind that mountain. It will not be long now." The druid turned around and took one look at Forde. "Perhaps, it is a good idea that we rest for now. We must be prepared, for many evil monsters still roam around that place. We cannot let our guards down."

One hour later,

The three travelers were now standing in front of what appeared to be the entrance to an ancient looking cave. If the two knights had not been with Knoll, they would have missed this place, for the entrance was covered entirely with long vines and moss. Once the three came near the entrance, a strange but faint rumbling sound could be heard coming from it.

"Is it just me or all of a sudden it just got very, very cold?" Forde was now shivering. He also noticed that he could no longer hear the usual sounds of the forest. No birds were singing, no animals or insects moving around, what was this place?

Kyle also noticed the change in the atmosphere, but he simply said. "We were very fortunate that we did not encounter any monsters. However, I could not rid myself of this uneasy feeling."

Knoll also agreed. "Indeed, it is strange that we did not find one single monster. Normally, there would be a couple of them walking around." Knoll moved closer to the entrance. He cleared some of the vines and moss that covered the entrance to reveal a stone door. Written on it were ancient runes.

The two knights could not read the ancient alphabets, but apparently the druid could. He began reading it in his usual quiet voice. The moment Knoll began reading, a strong gust of wind blew in their faces. The language sounded nothing like anything that they had heard before. They both guessed that the language was from the time of the reign of the Demon King. The stone began to move slowly…..

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Meanwhile,

"Here we are, Dozla, but where are these vile creatures and the cave that the villagers spoke of? Are you certain that the information that you obtained was accurate?" The green-haired princess looked around and frowned. "Besides, why did you even choose this place when there was no one around to witness my beauty and power?"

"My apologies. It is, indeed, odd that we should find neither a cave nor the monsters." Dozla looked around the place. He was certain that this was the place that the villagers had described. He continued to look. He did not see anything out of the ordinary except for a group of three people standing in front of what appeared to be a moving stone door! "Hmm, this is quite interesting."

"What is, Dozla? Did you finally spot a monster for me to banish?"

Dozla just laughed. "Oh no Princess, but look yonder. Do you see the three travelers standing in front of the moving stone door? I believe that is the cave that we were looking for."

Before the princess could take off, Dozla stopped her. "Why did you stop me, Dozla? Do you not see that those travelers are about to meet their dooms? It is obvious to me that they do not even know that there could be monsters living inside the cave."

"Do not be hasty, Princess. We do not know who those travelers are, and for all we know they might be bandits seeking treasures. And if they are not, we can rescue them later."

The princess smiled. "What a brilliant idea! I always loved to play the role of a beautiful rescuer. Good job, Dozla. We shall wait here."

The door continued to slowly move. The faint rumbling sound that they heard earlier began to get louder and the air got even colder. Knoll continued to read the runes. His eyes were now closed. He was chanting in that strange language.

All of a sudden, Knoll opened his eyes and shouted, which startled both Kyle and Forde. "It is coming! Move away from the entrance and get ready."

Forde looked confusingly at Kyle. "Ready for what?"

But before Kyle could answer him, the rumbling sound turned into a roar.

Both Kyle and Forde could only stare in terror. Crawling out from the cave was a gigantic four-horned monster. Its size was not the only thing that was terrifying. It was breathing green fire. There were also steams coming from its silver black skin. It was now almost completely out of the cave. Its roar was horrifying. It was loud and powerful as if a hundred Wyverns were roaring at the same time. Both knights could see that this monster had a long tail, and growing from its tail were thorn-like spikes, hundreds of them.

The two knights were staring at this monster as if in a trance. The monster opened its mouth. It was too late for the knights to move!

"Watch out!" It was Knoll who came to their rescue. Both Kyle and Forde noticed that surrounding them now was a huge, blue light, which could only mean one thing. Knoll had cast some sort of a barrier shield on them, but that would leave him defenseless!

Despite its size, the monster was very quick and agile. Its tail moved so fast that Knoll did not have time to cast a barrier on himself.

'Bam!' Knoll was knocked into the air by the spiked tail. He floated in the air for what seemed like an eternity before landed on his back with a loud thud." The two knights shouted at the same time. "Knoll!"

The monster continued to move toward the stilled body of the druid. It began to open its mouth, getting ready to spit a ball of green fire. "Nooo!" Shouted the two knights trapped in the barrier.

The monster roared and spat out a large fireball. 'Bang!' The place where the druid was lying was now covered in smoke.

The two knights could only stare hopelessly in shock. Could the druid have been…?

The smoke began to clear. Wait a minute! Knoll was all right! Surrounding the druid was a similar blue light, and standing in front of him were a man carrying a giant axe and a young woman with light green hair carrying a staff. She was the one that saved Knoll!

The woman shouted at them. "Do not just stand there, do something! Break out of the barrier with your swords, now!"

The two knights urgently complied. The barrier was not difficult to break with their swords, since it was cast to protect, not trap them inside. Once the two got out, the monster moved to charge at them.

This time the two knights were ready and managed to dodge the attack. Once they got out of the way, they turned around to look at Knoll.

"Do not worry about Knoll. I will take care of him with my spell. Dozla, please help them defeat this monster." The princess turned back to look at Knoll and began casting her spell. "Mend!"

The monster was coming toward them again. This time it was covered entirely in steams. The fire from its mouth was no longer green but deep red.

Dozla shouted. "You two go around it. I will act as a decoy. Once I give you the signal, cut its head off with your swords, and be careful of its tail."

The two knights nodded and moved away, getting ready in their position. The monster was now running straight towards Dozla. The monster roared again.

Dozla waited until the monster came very close, close enough for him to feel the heat emanating from its skin and nostril. He then threw his giant axe at its right eye socket before jumping up on one of the tree branches. The monster stopped charging and was now roaring in pain. "Now!"

Kyle and Forde jumped down on top of the monster from the nearby trees. The moment they got on the monster, both grabbed on to its horns and cut the monster with their swords. Both had to grab onto the horns tightly, for the monster was moving from side to side with such strong force that knocked down the trees that were in its way.

Forde shouted. "Kyle, I cannot cut its head grabbing on to its horns like this."

"Hold on, Forde. I will find a way for us to cut it." With that said, Kyle let go of the horns. "What the hell are you crazy, Kyle?" Forde could only stare in horror. But before Kyle fell off the monster, he stuck his sword in the monster's neck. "All right, I got it. Now, it is your turn to let go of its horns."

Forde just stared. "Come again?"

"Damn it, Forde. You heard me! Just do it! Let go of its horns and try to grab my hand."

The thought finally dawned on Forde and he smiled. "Gotcha."

Forde let go. The monster's skin was rough and sharp. It cut into his skin. Forde finally got a hold of Kyle's hand. "Now Forde, cut its head off!"

"You got it, Kyle."

With one single blow, Forde managed to cut off the monster's head. Purple blood squirted out from where the sword cut into its skin. Once the head was cut, the monster's body continued to move. Both Kyle and Forde jumped off.

It was several minutes before its lifeless body stopped moving. It was amazing. They had never seen anything like this before. Finally, the monster went still, and both turned their attention to the injured druid.

"How is Knoll? Will he be all right?" Forde spoke to their green-haired rescuer.

The princess looked offended. "Just who do you think I am? How dare you doubt my abilities. I am L'Arachel, the beautiful Princess of Rausten, the greatest mage in all of Magvel!"

Dozla was now walking towards the group after retrieving his axe from the monster's head. "What a wonderful surprise to see you all here, Kyle, Forde, and Knoll."

Knoll seemed to be all right. His wounds were gone and he was now sitting up and opening his eyes. "Thank you for saving my life, Princess, Dozla."

"Do not mention it, Knoll. As a beautiful Princess of Rausten, it is my duty. By the way, what are you people doing out here? Did you not know that this place was crawling with monsters?" L'Arachel stared in amazement.

It was Kyle who spoke next. "It is a long story, which we do not have time to explain. We really are grateful that you saved us, but there is something very important that we must do." Kyle and Forde went to pick up Knoll, and all three headed towards the cave.

"Well, Dozla and I have time. I am very curious as to what you three are about to do next. You can just explain everything to me on our way in." With that, L'Arachel walked straight into the cave.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13:Artur, Saint of Light

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 13: Artur, Saint of Light and Lute, Prodigy

It was getting close to the day of the coronation. Thought a red haired monk standing in the Great Hall of Renais Castle. Next to his right, stood a purple haired mage, his childhood friend.

In about three days, people from all over Magvel would be heading to Renais to witness this blessed event. Everywhere he looked, there was excitement in the air. The newly built villages surrounding Renais were all decorated with bright colored banners, including his own. Even he himself could not contain the excitement felt by people throughout the kingdom. He was looking forward to this. The four of them, King Ephraim, Queen Eirika, Lute, and himself were good friends. And as their good friends, he and Lute were all invited to be at the castle three days prior to the actual coronation to be greeted personally by the King and Queen.

The young monk turned to his friend and spoke. "It has been quite some time has it not, since we last visited the castle? I wonder how the twins are doing?"

The mage looked at him as if he had just grown a horn on his forehead. "I will not insult my intelligence by answering questions with such obvious answers, Artur. Since the two are about to make their appearance, I do not think that answering your questions is wise."

The monk smiled in response. He knew his friend's nature quite well, since the two grew up together. Lute has always been this way, straightforward, and sometimes to the point of being blunt. She might, at times, ignore other people's feelings, but she was kind at heart.

The door to the left of the hall suddenly burst open. Walking in were two figures, which the monk immediately recognized.

"It is so good to see you again Artur, Lute." King Ephraim smiled brilliantly at his friends. "How are you two doing? I am so glad that you could make it here before the coronation. I trust that you two did not encounter any problems on the way here"

"We are doing great and no, we did not, Your Majesty. I, too, am glad that we could make it here despite the fact that we had just left the village two days ago. At first, I did not think that we would make it." Artur looked embarrassed.

Lute looked at Artur in that weird way that she often did when he managed to annoy her before she finally spoke. "There was no chance that my calculations would be incorrect. Taken everything into considerations such as the conditions of the road, the size of the forest that we had to walk through as well as the weather conditions, I came up with one conclusion. That it would take less than two days to reach Renais Castle. And in the end, I was right, hence, my calculations were perfect."

It was Eirika's turn to smile. "There was not a single doubt in my mind, Lute. You two must be tired from the journey, please get some rest. The others will be arriving soon."

As soon as Eirika finished this sentence, the soldier stationed at the door loudly announced. "General Seth, Commander Syrene, and Sir Gilliam."

Eirika was quite shocked. She did not expect that the trio would make their appearance so soon. She was not ready to face HIM, at least not yet. The content of the letter that Tana wrote, given to her by Franz, which she had read only not long ago, was still fresh in her mind:

Eirika, my dear friend,

I have written this letter to inform you of an urgent matter, which I believed concerns you personally. I, myself, had just discovered this matter not long ago and had been giving it a lot of thoughts. I do hope with all of my heart that you would not think me too nosy after you have read the letter and would still consider me your good friend. Let me just, then, get to the point. As your close friend, I have known for quite some time now how you feel about Seth. Oh, please do not be embarrassed. It was not obvious to outsiders, of course, but only to me, your close friend, so put your mind at ease.

During the times that we fought the Demon King together, I did notice that what he felt for you then was more than what a knight should feel for his princess. However, I no longer know for certain if Seth still feels the same way. As you know, Seth and our commander, Syrene, have been training the new recruits together. The two have become very close in such a short period of time, so close that I am beginning to worry for you. I could not help but feel that I was somehow responsible for bringing the two together. But believe me, Eirika, had I but known then, I would never have asked you to send Seth to Frelia. Please forgive me, Eirika. I would never do anything to hurt you.

Your friend,

Tana

Eirika sighed and looked at Syrene who was standing between Seth and Sir Gilliam. The rumors about the commander were true. She was, indeed, very beautiful, and if what Tana had said was true…NO, Eirika gently shook her head. She must not let this get to her. She was not weak. She would welcome them to Renais with a bright smile on her face.

Lute and Artur noticed the sudden change in their Queen. Lute could not help but wondered what could have suddenly brought about this change. She turned to her friend and quietly spoke. "I do not like this. I do not understand what is happening."

The young monk coughed a little and smiled. "E-Er, I do not think that my explanation would help you understand it, since I am not good at this myself."

The mage gave her friend an annoyed look before turning her attention to the trio that were now standing in front of the King and Queen.

Up close, Syrene noticed that Eirika was the epitome of beauty and grace. How was she to compete with someone such as Eirika? Syrene knew that she was just being unreasonable. There was no reason why she should be jealous. After all, Seth had never said that he was in love with Eirika. Well, she was not going to give up so easily.

Eirika finally spoke. "Thank you, Sir Gilliam, Syrene, and Seth, for coming. I am glad that you all made it here safely."

"Yes, I am glad to see you all again." Ephraim smiled. "How is Frelia, Sir Gilliam? It must have been tough, especially for you who had been sent to protect the villages."

"Your Majesties." Gilliam smiled at both Eirika and Ephriam. "I was glad to have been able to save the villagers from those vile creatures. As long as I could do that much, I am content."

Ephraim now turned his attention to Seth and noticed that the young General was looking intensely at his sister. The two were just staring at each other as if they were the only people in the room. Ephraim coughed loudly and spoke. "Seth, glad to have you back. Everyone must be very tired, please show them to their resting quar…"

Before Ephraim could finish, the soldier loudly announced. "General Duessel, Sir Knoll, Commander Kyle, Commander Forde, Princess L'Arachel, and Sir Dozla."

All eyes turned to the six people that had just walked into the room. However, it was Kyle who received the most attention. The young commander was carrying a black, ancient looking stone box covered in golden runes. Somehow, there was a strong aura exuding from the container and everyone in the room could feel it.

Everyone was silent. It was Ephraim who spoke first. "Ah, Kyle, Forde. I knew that you would come through for me." Ephraim smiled uneasily at his other guests and continued speaking. "I thank you very much for coming all the way from Grado, General Duessel, Knoll. I also thank you for coming from Rausten, L'Arachel and Dozla." Ephraim then turned his attention to everyone in the room in general and spoke. "Now that everyone is here, Eirika and I would like to welcome you all to Renais."

The door unexpectedly burst open. Cold wind blew fiercely into the Great Hall. The force was so strong, that it knocked the soldier stationed next to the door on the floor.

"Did you forget about us, Ephraim?" The voice was cold and full of disgust. "I did not expect that a King such as yourself would forget your strongest ally" Prince Innes sneered and pretended to look offended. His sister, Princess Tana, quietly followed him into the room.

It was obvious to everyone in the room that something was amiss with the siblings. Never before had anyone seen Prince Innes openly show his hatred towards King Ephraim. It was not a secret that the two were rivals, but there was always a certain degree of civility that the two showed towards each other. Today, something was different.

Eirika started to shiver uncontrollably. The changes in Prince Innes and her friend, Tana, were quite starling. Tana no longer looked like the bright, cheerful girl that she was. She looked as though she had not slept for days. Not only that, she looked scared, but of what? Her own brother? Also, Prince Innes looked menacing in that black-red garb that he wore. The expression that was now on his face made him look frightening.

Eirika managed to speak. "Prince Innes, Tana, thank you for coming. I am glad that you two could make it. However, I must apologize to you on my brother's behalf. He was so excited to see many of his friends all at once that it must have slipped his mind that you two had not been present. Please forgive him, it was not done intentionally."

Innes stared intensely at both Eirika and Ephraim, which made the twins uncomfortable. He spoke coldly. "At least one of you is civil enough. Well, I will forget this atrocious behavior from you, Ephraim, since your sister kindly begged me to." Innes laughed rudely and continued to stare at the twins while ignoring the others. "I am very tired. How long do you plan to have your guests stand here?"

Eirika noticed that her brother's hands were visibly shaking from rage, but his voice was calm when he spoke. "Please, Seth, show everyone to their resting quarters."

Everyone walked out of the Great Hall. Lute and Artur were the last people to leave.

"Hmm, I must try to figure out what is happening. Someone as intelligent as myself cannot rest when there is something amiss. Artur, I need all my books. I need to get to work immediately." Lute then left the hall leaving Artur panicked "B-But I did not bring them…"

TBC


	14. Chapter 14:Cormag, Aloof Lanceman

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 14: Cormag, Aloof Lanceman

The young king of Jehanna was standing in the courtyard of his castle. It looked as though he was waiting for someone. Judging from his stance, whomever he was waiting for, was late. King Joshua was not a very patient man. He felt that, lately, his Lady Luck had not been smiling upon him. "Frowning, I would say" The young king smiled ironically. It all started about one week ago, when a messenger from Frelia arrived in the Great Hall carrying urgent news.

Just as she had promised, Vanessa had written to him relaying the events that took place in Frelia. What he had learned about that kingdom disturbed him greatly. Just as Master Saleh had predicted, something evil was looming over Frelia, and this force of evil had affected everyone, particularly Prince Innes and his sister. King Joshua knew the two siblings quite well. After all, they did join forces to fight that abominable demon, Fomortiis. Princess Tana was a very cheerful and bright young girl who seemed to crave her brother's approval and affection. The brother, Prince Innes, was an arrogant but honest young man whose archery skills he admired.

From the letter, Vanessa had described the princess as being fearful of her own brother. Moreover, the princess was always crying whenever she thought that no one was watching. And when she was with her brother, it was even worse. She would not even look him in the eyes and would only nod her head when he spoke or yelled at her.

The changes in Prince Innes were equally startling. He frequently yelled at anybody who chanced to be in the same room with him. If a soldier did not follow his orders correctly or happened to look at him the wrong way, which was often the case, he would put them in the dungeon withholding food and water. This cruel practice was unheard of in Frelia until now. Why had King Hayden not stopped his son?

However, these changes were not the only reason why the young king was worried. According to the latest message from Frelia. It seemed that Prince Innes had dispatched most of his royal armies to somewhere. The destination was unknown since Vanessa was not able to acquire the information. She was always kept by Princess Tana's side. However, she was never allowed to speak with the Princess. The Prince had probably suspected that she was a spy and wanted to keep a close watch on her. "Could it be King Hayden that ordered the dispatch? If so, what was the reason?"

Before Joshua had time to ponder on this disturbing matter further, he was startled out of his thoughts by the thunderous sound of what seemed to be enormous pairs of wings flapping.

"King Joshua, Your Majesty. I do hope that we are not late." Spoke a soldier whose blonde hair stood out from his dark skin, breathlessly. Riding next to him was also a soldier. The color of his armor belonged to that of the Grado army.

The young king smiled despite the fact that he had to wait for almost an hour in the severe heat. "Sir Cormag, you made it. I was about to flip a coin to see if I should leave and travel to Renais on my own."

Cormag looked embarrassed. "My apologies. There were many matters that I had to oversee in General Dussel's absence."

Joshua took one look at Cormag's face and burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha, please, Sir Cormag, do not be so serious. I was merely joking. Well, now that you are here with your Wyvern, we should get going. I do not want to miss the coronation of my two favorite people, you know?"

Cormag looked puzzled but managed to nod his head and move to make room for Joshua on his Wyvern. "What about the sage, Master Saleh? Will he not be traveling with us? I have brought the other Wyvern for him."

Joshua simply replied. "No, I have already sent him ahead of us. In fact, I have sent him and his pupil to Renais three days ago. They should be there by now."

Cormag thought that it was strange but kept silent.

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Meanwhile in Renais,

The excitement that the people in Renais had been feeling had finally reached its peak. Most of the villagers had trouble sleeping the previous night. In the morning, they all left their homes early. Children and adults alike, all had a bright smile on their faces. Some of the villagers could also be seen carrying the flag of the Royal House of Renais. Today, their beloved King and Queen would be officially crowned. The twins were their pride and joy.

Similarly, everyone in Renais Castle was excited. The servants were busy moving about preparing for the coronation, which was about to take place in less than six hours! The servants all worked hard to achieve one goal: that nothing must go wrong before, during, and after the coronation. Everything must be perfect. Well, it is going to be a long but happy day for them.

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In the garden behind the castle,

Eirika sat silently staring at the rose bushes. The roses were now blooming quite beautifully. Each bush was a different color: pink, yellow, white, orange, and red. Not only did they look beautiful, they also smelled wonderful as well. On this special occasion, Eirika was wearing a white gown with gold trimmings, which had belonged to her mother, the Late Queen. She, too, had worn this gown at her coronation. The gown had been altered slightly so that it would fit Eirika perfectly. And for the finishing touch, Eirika added white ribbons to the front of her gown.

Eirika sighed and began to pluck the petals off the pink rose that she was holding in her hand.

"Why the long face, my dear Sister? Are you not a bit excited that today has finally come?" Spoke Ephraim. Walking behind him were the three commanders, Kyle, Forde, and Franz.

Eirika was startled and dropped the rose, whatever was left of it. "O-Oh, Ephraim"

Eirika turned red when she saw Franz. Apparently, what happened in the garden several weeks ago was still fresh in her mind. She was embarrassed but managed to speak. "You startled me, Brother."

Ephraim smiled. Today, his sister looked beautiful, not that she did not always look beautiful to him, but today, she was incredibly beautiful. Ephraim beamed with pride.

"Sorry, Eirika. I did not mean to do that." Then all of a sudden, he was no longer smiling. "I need to speak with you and also give you something."

Eirika looked puzzled but complied. She got up and walked towards her brother, all the while wondering what could her brother have possibly wanted to talk to her about in front of his three commanders.

"Kyle, please hand me the box." Ephraim took the box from Kyle but did not open it. He gently handed it to Eirika. Eirika was about to open her mouth to ask, but Ephraim stopped her. "Eirika, before you ask me anything, I want you to know that, if it had not been for Kyle, Forde, Knoll, L'Arachel, and Dozla, it would be impossible for me to hand this object to you. They all risked their lives to retrieve it."

Eirika looked thankfully at Kyle and Forde. "I see. So this object was the reason why you two were sent away. Thank you so very much Kyle, Forde."

Both replied at the same time. "It was an honor, Your Majesty." However, Forde could not help himself and added. "Although a little kiss on the cheek would be greatly appreciated." As soon as he had said these words, Kyle elbowed his friend sharply in the ribs.

Eirika laughed and proceeded to open the box. She was stunned to see what was inside. "Oh Ephraim. This, this is, oh it is so beautiful. I do not know what to say." Eirika lifted the object from the box. Glinted in the light was a small silver dagger, and set in the middle of the blade was a single gemstone the color of the deep ocean.

It was very strange, but Eirika could feel its mysterious power. It was strong yet gentle, fierce yet warm. She did not know how to explain it. She turned to her brother.

"Yes, Eirika. This is the ancient relic that Father often spoke of. He promised to give this to you to be used on the day of your coronation. I wished to keep his promise so I asked Kyle and Forde to retrieve it from its resting place in Grado."

Eirika stared at the dagger in her hand and tears started to drop from her lovely face. "Oh Father." Eirika held the dagger tightly to her heart.

"Be careful, Eirika or you might cut yourself with that" All eyes turned to the two figures that were walking towards them.

The twins were pleasantly surprised. Eirika quickly wiped away her tears. Both spoke excitedly at the same time. "Joshua!"

"Joshua and the ever-so-serious Cormag, at your service." Joshua smiled brightly. "I see that you two are doing well."

"I am so glad that you finally made it to Renais. Eirika and I have been worried when we did not see you three days ago. By the way, Master Saleh and Ewan are already here. Both are resting in their quarters."

"Well, glad to hear that." The young king abruptly turned to his companion. "Hey, are you not going to say anything, Cormag?" He turned back to face the twins. "You guys would not believe it, but Cormag did not say a word during the whole ride." The twins looked at Cormag and smiled. It must have been tough for him riding with Joshua.

Cormag looked briefly at Joshua before he turned his attention to Eirika. She looked very lovely in that gown. The people of Renais were very fortunate to be blessed with such a passionate and kind young queen. Then he saw the dagger in her hands and stopped breathing.

Could that be the cursed relic that his late brother often talked about? From what he had learned, this relic must never leave its resting place. Should it be in the wrong hand, it would wreck havoc on mankind! What was it doing here in Renais, and in the hands of Queen Eirika no less!

It was Ephraim who interrupted his thoughts. "Sir Cormag, please kindly stop staring at my sister." Ephraim smiled. "You two must be very tired. Please allow me to show you to your rooms."

Cormag turned a little red. "Thank you, Your Majesty." It was unlike him to be caught staring.

"Brother, if you do not mind, I should like to stay here for a little while."

Ephraim understood that his sister needed to spend time alone to think about her father. "No, I do not mind Eirika, but do not be long."

Everyone started heading back towards the castle. Cormag was the last to leave. His mind was troubled by the thought of the dagger. "I do wish that you never had to see the dagger, Eirika."

TBC


	15. Chapter 15:Ewan, Enthusiastic Student

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 15: Ewan, Enthusiastic Student

Being young did have its disadvantages. Thought Ewan sourly. The young mage could not understand why women always complained about getting old and that many wished to stay young forever. His older sister was no exception. She tried everything from scrubbing her face with the sand from Jehanna to drinking boiled Wyvern's scales. "Yuck!" Thinking about the latter made him sick.

To Ewan, being young equaled not being able to act freely on his own will. Everywhere he went, people would call him 'kid,' which irritated him to no end. And worst of all, he never got the kind of respect he thought he deserved for being an apprentice to a great sage such as Saleh.

Take today for example. Ever since he left his room this morning to take his usual morning stroll, the servants had been asking if he was lost or that perhaps he would like someone to walk him back to his room. "Why could they not understand? It was entirely my decision to wonder about the castle. I am not a child, and I certainly do not need someone to guide me around!"

Ewan was getting worked up. He needed to find a place to cool off before heading to the Great Hall where the coronation was to take place. From what he saw this morning, a large crowd was already gathering there. After all, the ceremony was only an hour away. Ewan wanted to look ready for the big event. Besides, he did not want his teacher to inquire anything about his present mental state. "Yep, the garden will do just fine."

Ewan walked straight into the garden behind the castle. He walked quietly towards the back of the garden, which, if he remembered correctly had a cliff that overlooked a river. He was about to walk past a rose bush, one of many, when he noticed that there was already someone sitting on a rock, the size of a small chair.

Ewan immediately hid behind the bush, and in the process, got scratched by the thorns. He did not dare yell out, so instead he put both his hands on his mouth. First, he needed to get a good look at whomever that was sitting there. Ewan tried to squint his eyes to see who it was. "Hey, that is Queen Eirika! What is she doing here? She should be in the Great Hall with King Ephraim and everybody else."

Ewan noticed that Eirika looked rather pretty in that white gown. She certainly looked different today. On closer inspection, Eirika was holding something to her chest. Also, she seemed to be trying to dry her tears. "Why was she crying?" Whispered Ewan. "And what is that thing she is holding?" Even though Ewan was not yet a great mage, he could still feel a strong aura emanating from the object.

Ewan thought that it was none of his business and was about to head back to the castle when he saw a black cloaked figure walking towards Eirika.

Eirika did not see the figure approaching her, and when it spoke, she was startled. "Eirika, may I speak with you?"

Eirika immediately turned around. It was Tana! Oh my god, what had happened to her? Instead of being overjoyed to see her best friend once again, Eirika was appalled to see how much her friend had changed in such a short period of time.

She had heard that Tana has changed a great deal, but the person standing in front of her looked ghastly. There were dark circles under Tana's eyes, and she looked so pale. Her hair was let down, and it partly covered her face. And her voice was different. She sounded old and tired, as if each word spoken took great effort from her.

Tana appeared to be scared of something, but what? Eirika also noticed that Tana was now looking intensely at the dagger in her hands.

"Eirika? You still have not answered me."

"O-Oh yes. Of course, you may, Tana. There was no need for you to ask for my permission. Did you forget that you are my best friend?" Eirika tried to smile despite the fact that she was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Eirika did not understand why she should be feeling this way but could not help herself. "What is it, Tana?"

Tana's eyes were still on the dagger, but just before she replied, she looked around wildly as if afraid, then continued. "Eirika, you are in grave danger. You must get as far away from this place as you can."

Eirika was puzzled. "What are you talking about, Tana? You know I cannot leave. The coronation ceremony is less than an hour away. Which reminds me, I should get back to the castle now, and so should you, Tana."

It became apparent to Eirika that Tana was now in the state of panic. "E-Eirika, you do not understand. Y-You have to leave. L-Leave before he gets here. You must, oh, you must. I-If you do not, he will…he will…"

Eirika did not understand what was happening to her friend. She tried to calm Tana down, but that only made it worse. Tana grabbed Eirika's arms tightly. She kept chanting the same thing over and over. "Leave now, leave, leave, or he will, or he will…"

"Or he will what? You foolish girl." A cold voice suddenly spoke.

Both Eirika and Tana were startled, especially Tana, whose face was drained of blood. Eirika quickly turned around, but Tana just stood still, transfixed. Eirika held her breath when she saw who it was.

"P-Prince Innes." Eirika was surprised. When did he get here?

"Oh please. Do not stop on my behalf. I am sure you and Tana have a lot to catch up on, since you two have not seen each other in such a long time." Innes sneered. He was leaning comfortably against a tree. From his position, it looked as though he had been there for quite some time now.

Eirika suddenly wanted to get away from the prince. She began to understand why Tana was in this state. Something about Innes did not feel right. Today, he was wearing yet another black-red garb. His silver blonde hair was brushed neatly, but nevertheless, Eirika could not shake off the fear that was now gripping her heart. "Prince Innes, what are you doing here? You should be inside the castle with my brother."

"Speak for yourself, Princess Eirika. What are YOU doing out here? You do know that the ceremony cannot begin without you, do you not?" Again, he sneered, and despite her fear, Eirika felt compelled to wipe that sneer off his face.

Eirika had dismissed her initial fear of Innes as being nonsense. It had now been replaced with anger. Eirika tried to keep her voice calm when she spoke. "Yes, I do understand that quite well. Tana and I were about to leave when you decided to show up. Now, if you will excuse us, we would like to head back to the castle."

Eirika grabbed Tana's hand and started walking back towards the castle. But all of the sudden, Innes placed his hand firmly on her right shoulder. "Why are you in such a hurry to get away from this place or should I say, from me?" Innes smiled. "I am sure staying here for couple more minutes will not make a big difference. Your brother and his friends can wait."

The hand placed on her shoulder was so cold! Not only that, it was beginning to hurt her. "Please let go of me, Prince Innes. If you have something to say to me, you can do so after the ceremony."

"Tsk, tsk, such temper coming from you, Princess Eirika? I never would have expected this." Innes used his other hand to yank Tana free from Eirika's hold and pushed her behind him. "Do not be so hasty to leave." Innes slowly looked Eirika up and down. "Have I told you today how very beautiful you look, my dear Princess Eirika?"

Eirika noticed that his eyes were now on the dagger in her hand.

"Please stop this at once, Prince Innes. I do not think that this is appropriate. Let me pass, NOW."

Innes abruptly let go of her shoulder but did not let her pass. Eirika could see that Innes was now angry, very angry. "Not appropriate? You dared tell me that what I said to you was not appropriate?" Then he suddenly burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha ha, I should have known. I am such a fool. Of course, to you, only one man is allowed to make this kind of comment." This time, Innes grabbed both of Eirika's shoulders. Eirika yelped in pain. Her cry sent Tana to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. 

"It is HIM, is it not?" Innes continued to hurt Eirika. "That man, the one that stole your heart."

"Innes, you are hurting me. Let me go at once, or else."

Innes grinned evilly in response. "Or else what, Princess? What are you going to do? Cry and beg for help? Do you honestly think that anyone would hear you?"

Innes could see the look of fear and panic in Eirika's eyes. He moved his face closer. "You have such lovely eyes, Princess Eirika. They sparkle and shine when you are in fear. I always knew that you would make a beautiful queen, MY queen, that is." Innes laughed violently. He looked at the dagger once again. "I cannot believe that it would be this easy. Now, with that dagger, all my ambitions will come true."

Eirika was stunned. Has Innes gone mad? "What do you plan to do, Innes?" To which, Innes just simply replied. "If I told you, I would have to kill you, Princess Eirika. And that, is something I do not wish to do at the moment."

Innes quickly turned around to shout at his sister. "Get up, you useless fool, stop moving around like an idiot and follow me. We are leaving!" Innes then grabbed Eirika's waist and dragged her towards the cliff.

The whole time the event was unfolding, Ewan had been sitting and listening quietly. But now, he could no longer sit still. He had got to go tell King Ephraim and his teacher that Prince Innes had gone insane and had taken Queen Eirika. Ewan got up, ready to run towards the castle, but a twig snapped loudly. "Oh, no."

Innes and Eirika, both turned around quickly to see Ewan standing right next to a rose bush looking shocked. Innes roared. "That brat."

Suddenly, a bright red light glowed from Innes' left hand. It happened so fast and unexpectedly that Eirika did not have time to stop him. The light grew into a fireball, and Innes threw it towards Ewan. 'Bam'

Ewan was still shocked but managed to dodge the attack. It missed him by just a couple of inches. The intensity of the fireball was so great, that it scorched the tip of his hair.

Innes raised his hand again, and the same red light glowed. All of a sudden, Eirika grabbed his arm and yelled. "Run Ewan, and do not look back. Run!"

Torn that he had to leave Eirika behind, but thankful that she had saved his life, Ewan began to run. He ran like he had never done before, all the while, he could hear that Eirika was struggling with Innes behind him.

The struggle continued even after Ewan had left, but Innes stopped it with a single punch to Eirika's stomach. Eirika went limp in his arms and dropped the dagger to the ground. Innes picked it up and turned to speak with his sister.

"Tana, it would seem that we have to put the plan in motion sooner than I had expected, but it will proceed just as intended." Once again, Innes burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha, they are all fools. It is too late to stop me now."

With that said, Innes, with Eirika held in his arms, jumped off the cliff.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16:Saleh, the Well of Wisdom

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 16: Saleh, the Well of Wisdom

It was forty-five minutes before the coronation ceremony was to commence. The man who had been known and revered by many as the greatest sage of his time, thought uneasily to himself before scanning his eyes across the Great Hall of Renais Castle.

Everyone he knew was already present: Princess L'Arachel and her ever so faithful servant, Dozla, were having what seemed like a lively conversation. The three commanders of Renais were all standing in one corner discussing something, which apparently was very funny, for Forde was laughing like a mad man. His friend, Kyle, it seemed, was trying really hard not to laugh, while Franz was blushing like a tomato.

At another corner, King Joshua seemed to be enjoying his large company, which made up of General Duessel, Sir Knoll, Sir Cormag, Vanessa, Artur, and Lute. From where he was standing, the sage could see that they were having a quiet conversation, and judging from the look on Sir Cormag's face who had yet to utter a word to the group, the topic must have been a serious one.

As for the people who had come to gather in the Great Hall from all across Magvel, there was a bright smile on their faces. Clearly, the people were content to be a part of this event. Yes, indeed, the sage thought. Everyone looked happy, everyone, except the soon-to-be officially crowned, king of Renais who was standing by himself looking grim.

The sage took one long look at the young king and smiled briefly. He had never known King Ephraim to be easily ruffled under any circumstances. He was always calm and collected. His well-composed demeanor was something to be feared among the soldiers. The sage knew this well, having fought alongside him to bring about the Demon King's demise. And as a result of having spent a lot of time together with King Ephraim, the sage had come to learn of the only thing that could affect the young king's otherwise perfect composure.

When it came to his twin, Ephraim was like a completely different person. It was not a secret among his close friends that Ephraim constantly looked after his twin sister (like a mother hen, they would say). He was always worried about her well-being, and lately, he had been especially protective of her. It was as if Ephraim was dreading that something terrible would happen to her, and he was afraid that he would not be able to stop it, whatever it was.

Today, Ephraim looked rather splendid in his white garb with gold trimming, which was meant to exactly match the gown of his twin sister. However, it was obvious to the sage that the king was unusually tensed, and it was understandable. Since he, himself had been sensing the strong evil presence, first in Frelia, and now in Renais! It was quite a strong possibility that Ephraim could have felt it too even though he was neither a sage nor a druid, for the presence had grown so strong, much stronger than even before.

The sage had come to his own conclusion the night that he arrived in Renais. It was clear to him that the evil presence was not coming from the Demon King's minions that he had left behind after his destruction, but something more sinister, something with even greater destructive power. He was not certain before, but now there was no doubt in his mind that the changes in Prince Innes and his sister had something to do with it.

As the time for the ceremony drew near, the sage noticed that the young king was becoming more and more anxious. The sage scanned the Great Hall once more looking fore the cause of King Ephraim's anxiety. She was nowhere to be found. Apparently, something had delayed her; otherwise, she would have already been here alongside her brother greeting the people.

At the moment, Queen Eirika was not the only one missing in the Great Hall. The sage began to wonder where his own pupil disappeared to. He had not seen Ewan since early this morning when they had met briefly in the corridor leading to the kitchen. From the look on Ewan's face, it was likely that he went to look for something to fill his stomach. The sage sighed when he remembered the conversation that they had in the morning.

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Flashback: Early this morning,

"Good morning, Teacher."

"Good morning, Ewan. Did you sleep well?"

Ewan beamed. "I certainly did. The bed was so big and comfortable. I remembered quite well that I could not sleep at all the first night we arrived here, but I think I am finally used to it." Ewan continued to grin.

Saleh smiled sadly before he spoke. "Which is precisely what we must not do, Ewan."

Ewan looked at this teacher, the look of confusion clearly displayed on his face. "Why is that, Teacher?"

Saleh placed his hand lovingly on Ewan's head before he replied. "We must never forget where we come from, Ewan. In Caer Pelyn, there is no such luxury. The life that both you and I lead is different from that of the people in this castle. If you become too accustomed to everything here, when we go back to our home, you will find our living conditions intolerable. Your appreciation for the simplicity in the way our people live will soon fade. What would you do, Ewan, if that were to happen?"

Ewan looked at his teacher for a moment and then lowered his head to stare at his feet. Yes, life would not be the same. Ewan could not deny the truth in what his teacher said. He suddenly looked up as if the meaning of the words had finally dawned on him. "Yes, Teacher. I understand now. I liked living with you in Caer Pelyn, and I liked being your disciple, so I will not sleep in that bed anymore, starting tonight."

Saleh just sighed. That was not what he meant at all.

Ewan's stomach began to growl loudly. "Well, Teacher, I am off to the kitchen. I will see you in the Great Hall later today."

"Ewan, I do hope that you have not forgotten your duty." Ewan could see that his teacher was serious.

He replied with a bright, big grin. "Of course not, Teacher. Actually, that is the reason why I am now going to the kitchen. I remembered that you once said 'One cannot work on an empty stomach'. Am I right?" There was a playful glint in Ewan's eyes, and then he was off, running towards the kitchen.

End flashback

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Saleh sighed once again. The day after they had arrived in Renais, the very same day that Saleh began to suspect Prince Innes and Princess Tana, he had asked Ewan to keep a close watch on the siblings, and to inform him immediately if anything out of the ordinary should happen. So far, his student had yet to report anything to him. The sage wondered whether Ewan had been carrying out his duty. And speaking of Prince Innes and his sister, Saleh had not seen them at all ever since he entered the Great Hall. Once more, he felt the uneasiness that had been residing in his heart and began to look around.

Like Queen Eirika, the two were nowhere in sight. This was a cause for alarm, and the sage could no longer stand still. He headed towards Ephraim.

This fact did not go unnoticed by another man who also shared the sage's concern.

Syrene thought that Seth looked wonderfully handsome today in his black red armor. When she walked out of her own bedchamber this morning and spotted him standing in the courtyard brushing his horse, she had thought he looked like something out of a fairy tale her grandmother had told her when she was just a little girl. Her heart stopped beating for a moment, and when he turned around to give her a smile, she thought that her heart would never beat again.

However, now standing in the Great Hall, Syrene noticed that something was bothering Seth. The expression on his face said it all. He was worried about something or perhaps someone. Syrene thought crossly. Seth had stopped talking completely and his eyes were glued to just one spot, the door to the left, the very same one that King Ephraim had used to enter the Great Hall.

It was not very difficult for someone of Syrene's intelligence to figure out just what was on Seth's mind. She was also certain that it was the same thing on everybody else's mind as well. Where was Eirika? It was almost time for the coronation, and she was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps, she liked to make people wait for her. Syrene thought bitterly and continued to stare at Seth. This would have gone on for quite some time had it not been for a large but gentle hand placed on her shoulder. "Do you not find it strange, Syrene, that all three of them should be delayed at the same time?"

Syrene was startled and embarrassed that she was caught staring at Seth. "S-Sir Gilliam." She managed to regain her composure and spoke calmly. "Who do you mean, Sir Gilliam?"

"I find it very odd that Queen Eirika and our Prince Innes and Princess Tana should all be delayed at once."

Syrene pretended to give it a thought and replied. "I do not think that it is odd at all, Sir Gilliam, that Prince Innes and Princess Tana should be delayed together. They might have things to discuss between themselves. However, I agree with you that it is odd that Queen Eirika, of all people, chose not to be here early to greet her guests."

Suddenly, Seth turned around to face both Syrene and Gilliam. He may have appeared calm, but Gilliam knew better that he was anything but. "Sir Gilliam, I am glad to know that you shared my concern. I am worried that something might have happened to prevent them from coming to the Great Hall." Then he turned to Syrene and gave her a smile, but Syrene could clearly see that his smile contained no warmth. "Syrene, I must disagree with you. I know Queen Eirika quite well, and believe me, she would never do what you had just said."

All of a sudden, came a loud thud from where King Ephraim was standing. It was Master Saleh! He was lying on the marble floor clutching his head. What happened?

Ephraim could not believe his eyes. He had just been talking to Saleh about Eirika, wondering why she was taking so long, but before he knew it, Saleh was on the floor moaning in pain!

Everybody rushed to help the sage, but Ephraim and Cormag were closer, and they got to him first. They both helped the sage up. The pain seemed to have subsided, for Saleh had stopped clutching his head, although his face was still pale.

"What happened, Master Saleh?" Ephraim spoke worriedly to the sage. "Are you still in pain?"

The sage did not reply, but the look of horror on his face was alarming. Finally, he managed to speak "Q-Queen Eirika! Something terrible had happened to her. I-It was Prince Innes. I saw it. I saw it in my vision. Hurry, we must save her!"

Ephraim went still. All his effort to protect his sister had been in vain. His worst fear had come true. Ephraim bit his lower lip trying to control his anger before rushing out of the hall shouting. "INNES."

Saleh and the others were still in shock, but they managed to follow Ephraim out. Syrene rushed to Seth's side wanting to stop him, but the same large hand grabbed her shoulder gently. "Let him go, Syrene. A man has to follow his own heart."

Syrene could only watch as Seth ran out of the hall leaving her and Gilliam behind.

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In the corridor leading out of the castle,

Ephraim was running towards the garden. "I should have known it was Innes. I should have known the moment he stepped into the Castle. Oh Eirika. I should not have left you alone in the garden. How could I have been so careless?" Ephraim's initial anger towards Innes had now been replaced by his fear for Eirika's safety. Many questions went through his mind. How was he to save Eirika? What had happened to her? What did Innes do? Was Eirika hurt?

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked behind to find Seth and the others running behind him.

"You were not at fault, Your Majesty. If anyone shall be blamed for this, it should be I, the knight who had failed to carry out his duty." Seth spoke, his voice, full of emotions. This would not have happened had he been there with Eirika, protecting her.

The group was about to turn another corner, when they ran into Ewan. He was panting heavily from running non-stop to reach the Castle. They could see that his face as well as the tip of his hair were slightly burned.

Ewan's face lighted up when he saw his teacher and the others. He immediately opened his mouth to speak but found it difficult to do so. "Q-Queen." Ewan tried again. "Queen Eirika." He was having difficulty breathing and speaking at the same time. He continued to pant, his chest heaving up and down.

Seth grabbed both his shoulders. "Calm down, Ewan. Take deep breaths. There. Now, please tell us what happened to Queen Eirika."

Ewan had calmed down. He was finally able to speak again. "Prince Innes and Princess Tana had taken Queen Eirika." Ewan began rapidly. "Prince Innes tried to kill me with a fireball when I found out, but I managed somehow to dodge the attack. Queen Eirika saved me when he tried to kill me the second time with another fireball. She told me to run and never to look back. I did not know how to save her, so I ran to find all of you."

Saleh was surprised. Innes used fireballs? How had he come to possess such powerful magic?

Ephraim spoke next. His voice was calm, but the expression on his face said otherwise. "Where, Ewan. Tell me."

"It was near the cliff at the back of the garden, Your Majesty."

Ephraim and the others rushed towards the garden.

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At the back of the garden,

There were no signs of Prince Innes and Princess Tana. Apparently, they had already left. Saleh and the others were puzzled. There was only one exit from the garden. If Prince Innes and his sister had left the garden right after Ewan, they would have run into them, so where did they go, and how?

Everyone immediately started looking around for clues that might be able to tell them anything, anything at all. Then, suddenly, a thought dawned on Saleh. He turned around and walked towards the cliff. Could they have possibly…?

The same thought occurred to Ephraim and the others. They all went still.

"Clearly, there was no way anyone could have survived a jump from the cliff this high. Hitting the water below at the falling speed from the cliff would kill just about anyone." Lute spoke calmly, but her friend, Artur, who was standing close by looked horrified.

The truth in what Lute had said hit Ephraim hard. Ephraim felt as though someone had just put a knife straight through his heart.

Lute paused to think and continued. "However, I doubt that someone as intelligent as Prince Innes would do such thing. After all, what could he have accomplished by doing that?"

Saleh agreed. "I think what Lute said is true. There must be a good explanation for their disappearance." Saleh walked towards the edge of the cliff. Looking down on the ground, he spotted something shiny glinting in the light. It was an animal scale. And not just any animal, it was a Wyvern scale! That explained everything!

Saleh turned around to face the group. They could all see that the sage looked excited holding something in his hand.

Saleh showed the scale to the group. "As you can see, this is a Wyvern scale. This scale explained how the Prince and his sister fled from the garden." Saleh handed the scale to Lute. She accepted it and simply said. "Oh, I see."

Saleh continued on. "After Prince Innes had captured Queen Eirika, he and his sister must have jumped off the cliff just as we had first suspected. However, what we had failed to see was that they did not jump straight down to the water below, but instead they jumped off the cliff onto the backs of the Wyverns they had waiting for them."

Ephraim began to look hopeful. "So, does this mean?" He looked at Saleh. "Yes, Your Majesty. Prince Innes did not harm Queen Eirika. She is safe at the moment, for it seemed to me that whatever Prince Innes is planning to do, it is going to involve Queen Eirika."

Ephraim was relieved to learn that his sister was safe for the moment, but suddenly, he remembered. "The dagger! Eirika has the dagger! Once again, I failed to see this coming." Ephraim hit the nearest tree with his fist forcefully. "Now I know why he took her! She is the only one who can wield it."

Cormag, who had been very quiet throughout the whole ordeal, suddenly spoke. His voice was chilling. "That accursed dagger. I knew it was trouble the moment I saw it." He then turned to look at Ephraim and spoke; this time there was a hint of anger in his voice. "Did you even realize what kind of power the dagger possesses before you gave it to your sister?"

Ephraim was visibly angry, but he was not angry with Cormag. His anger was directed toward himself. After all, he was the one who handed the dagger to Eirika. He did this to her. Ephraim hit the tree again.

Cormag was not finished. He was about to say more but was abruptly stopped by General Duessel. "Sir Cormag, that is quite enough. It was not King Ephraim's fault." He paused and looked around. "Some of you might not know this, but this is a tradition of the Royal House of Renais. The dagger must be strictly used by the Queen of Renais during her coronation in order to signify her ascension to the throne. This has been done since the ancient time."

Saleh was deep in thoughts. "I have heard of this custom, and I have also learned that the power of this dagger rivals that of the sacred stones. Should the dagger ever fall into the wrong hand, mankind will be in peril."

Lute added. "So, in order for Prince Innes to draw out its full power, he needs Queen Eirika. But why did Prince Innes not just unleash the power of the dagger on us when he had the chance. After all, we are all here. Would it not have been easier to destroy us here and now?"

"If our destruction was truly what he wished for. However, Prince Innes must have other motives. We have to figure out what his true intentions are." The sage spoke worriedly. "Now, let us head back to the Great Hall. We need to decide on what to do."

Seth was the last to leave the garden. He looked back towards the cliff. "Eirika, I will save you."

TBC


	17. Chapter 17:Joshua, the Tempest King

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 17: Joshua, the Tempest King

In the Great Hall of Renais Castle,

Syrene and Gilliam somehow managed to calm down the people in the Great Hall. It was not an easy task. The ceremony was supposed to begin ten minutes ago, but there were no signs of either King Ephraim or Queen Eirika. The people were beginning to worry if something terrible might have happened to their king and queen. Many who witnessed what had happened earlier to the sage began to speculate that they might have to halt the coronation ceremony.

Neither Syrene nor Gilliam knew what had actually happened to Queen Eirika, and they had no idea when the group would return. The people were getting impatient, and Syrene was running out of excuses to tell them. She had considered telling the people that their Queen was sick, but Sir Gilliam, who detested lying, had rejected the idea immediately.

The two were about to leave the hall themselves to find out just exactly what had happened when the group returned.

As soon as they walked in, Syrene knew right away that they did not find Queen Eirika. She noticed that King Ephraim seemed to have been overcome by frustration, and the others looked just as bad. So, it was true then. Queen Eirika was taken by Prince Innes and Princess Tana. What were they going to do now?

Joshua was walking ahead of the group. Once he reached Syrene and Gilliam, he did not waste any time relaying what the group had discovered in the garden behind the castle.

Several minutes later,

"So, that was what happened. Now, we need to figure out what Prince Innes is up to, but I am afraid that there is not much time since his plan to take Eirika had been discovered by Ewan." Joshua pointed to Ewan who nodded his head vigorously.

General Duessel added. "Naturally, he knows that we are going to foil his plan, whatever it is, so he will not waste any time carrying it out."

However, before anyone had time to further decide on the course of actions that should be taken, the door to the Great Hall suddenly burst open, followed by a strong gust of wind.

Flown into the hall were three Pegasus Knights wearing different colored armors. Wait a minute! These were the knights from Jehanna, Grado, and Rausten! What were they all doing here?

The people immediately made a wide path for the knights who quickly got off their Pegasi. They reached the group in just a matter of seconds.

One of the knights wearing a black armor spoke hurriedly to Joshua. "I am afraid we all have bad news to report, Your Majesty." He paused briefly to look at his fellow knights and continued. "Jehanna is now under heavy attacks by the royal armies of Frelia! It is total chaos, Your Majesty. Our Castle has incurred serious damages since our men were unprepared when the armies arrived. And on top of that, I do not think that we have enough weapons to hold them off for long."

Another knight looked at General Duessel then quickly added. "Our kingdom as well. The attacks began several hours ago. I was sent out immediately after the battle had begun. Our men are trying desperately to fight them off, but it will not be long before Grado Keep falls. Our men are inexperienced, and the enemy forces are greater in both number and strength." The knight looked horrified. "To be pitted against such force unexpectedly…"

A female Pegasus Knight walked straight towards L'Archel and Dozla. She spoke in a voice filled with despair. "Our kingdom is not faring any better than Jehanna or Grado, Your Highness. The enemies attacked indiscriminately. They do not care at all if the civilians got hurt, so long as they were in the way. Moreover, the enemy had sided with the Demon King's minions. A large number of these foul creatures are attacking many villages throughout Magvel as we speak."

As soon as these words were spoken, a heavy silence fell in the Great Hall. No one moved. It was as though everyone had stopped breathing at the same time. Then suddenly, Joshua burst out.

"Blast that Innes. He had planned all of this from the beginning!" Joshua turned to look at Vanessa and then turned back to the group, the expression of rage on his face, his hands made tight fists that turned his knuckles white.

Vanessa understood how Joshua felt. She stepped in front of him and began explaining to the group. "Several weeks ago, King Joshua had sent me back to Frelia with the instructions that I keep a close watch on Prince Innes and report back to him all that had taken place in Frelia Castle. Recently, I had learned that Prince Innes had dispatched his royal armies to somewhere but could not find out the exact location. Prince Innes had suspected that I was a spy for Jehanna and had kept me busy by Princess Tana's side the whole time I was in Frelia."

Vanessa noticed that Joshua was shaking with anger. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. It seemed to work, for he turned around and gave her a tight smile.

Saleh turned to speak with his student. "Ewan, I had known that Prince Innes was a great strategist, but I had no idea the extent of his intelligence. Indeed, it was frightening how one man could have come up with such an evil yet brilliant plan."

"I agreed, Teacher. He had chosen the perfect time to attack us. With all of us staying in Renais for the coronation, the castles in the other kingdoms are not as heavily guarded."

Ephraim was angry. "Now that he has both Eirika and the dagger, there is no guarantee that he will not do the same with Renais."

General Duessel nodded his head. "I agreed, King Ephraim. And I also think that we should not waste anymore time. We must all get back to our respective kingdoms at once to aid our men."

Having listened enough, Seth could no longer remain silent. He turned to Ephraim. "If I may, King Ephraim, allow me to lead the counterattack against the Frelian royal armies."

Ephraim looked at Seth thankfully. He knew how tough the decision must have been for Seth. Seth was a man bound by honor and duty. And because of that, he would never willingly abandon his men in time of need such as now, even though he must be torn inside, since he would not be able to save the only one person that mattered to him.

Ephraim had made up his mind. "No, Seth. I cannot allow that. Both you and I have an important mission ahead of us. My strength alone will not be enough to save Eirika, I need yours as well."

"King Ephraim is right, General Seth." The three commanders spoke at once, then Franz looked pleadingly at Seth. "Queen Eirika and King Ephraim need you. Please do not worry about the kingdom, we will protect Renais with our lives." To which, Forde and Kyle promptly nodded.

Franz added quietly to himself. "I want to see her smile once more."

"Commander Franz is right" Artur finally spoke. "If we find Queen Eirika and take back the dagger, we will be able to stop Prince Innes."

Lute tapped her forehead twice then smiled, which startled Artur who had rarely seen it. "Just like when we cut off the head of a snake, eventually its body and tail stop moving."

Joshua raised his right hand. "All right, then it is settled. Commanders Forde, Kyle, and Franz will lead the counterattack in Renais, while General Duessel, Sir Cormag, and Sir Knoll will head back to defend Grado. As for Jehanna, I am going to have to ask for your help Sir Gilliam and Commander Syrene."

"And please do not forget about me."

Joshua turned around. "Thank you, Vanessa." The two stared at each other for a moment then Joshua continued. "King Ephraim, Master Saleh, General Seth, and myself will rescue Eirika."

"Yes, King Joshua. We shall depart at once," was a reply Joshua received. "Please be careful, everyone."

"But where are you going to start looking? We have no idea where he had taken her, do we?" L'Archel knew she was absolutely right.

"I can tell you where he had taken her." Replied a small voice coming from the crowd.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18:Myrrh, the Great Dragon

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 18: Myrrh, the Great Dragon

In the Great Hall of Renais Castle,

"I can tell you where he had taken her." A small voice spoke again, and the crowd parted. Standing in the middle of the hall, was a small figure wearing a dark blue cloak.

No one dared to move. Ephraim noticed that the figure was that of a small child. He and the group continued to stare, saying nothing. The figure moved slowly towards the group and spoke once more. "Please allow me to explain everything."

The cloak suddenly dropped onto the marble floor revealing a little girl with indigo colored hair. Her hair was braided and tied neatly with two gold strings. To the crowd, there was nothing strange about this little girl. Then, they noticed a strange looking pair of small, dark wings flapping on her back! The crowd gasped loudly, and chaos ensued. Many small children, who had never before in their lives seen a dragon, began to cry and shout in fear. Some of the younger women fainted right on the spot whereas the older ones dropped to their knees and started praying.

Despite the commotion, Ephraim was pleasantly surprised. He never expected to see her again since they parted ways after restoring peace to Magvel, after the bloody battle with Fomortiis. "Myrrh, it is you."

Ephraim ran forward to pick the little girl up. He hugged her tightly; mindful of her little wings, before releasing her, a big smile visible on his face. "Myrrh, I am so glad to see you again. When did you get here? Are you here by yourself?" Myrrh smiled affectionately in return, but her smile was soon replaced with a worried frown.

Ephraim shot many more questions at Myrrh. "What are you doing here? And how did you know where Innes had taken Eirika?" Ephraim was so overcome by excitement that he was breathing heavily when he finally stopped.

Myrrh placed her tiny hands in Ephraim's strong ones. His hands were always warm. "Brother…I mean, King Ephraim, I am so sorry for not making my presence known sooner." Myrrh looked apologetically at Ephraim and the others. Seeing only smiling faces, she proceeded cautiously. "I arrived in Renais not more than two days ago. I apologize for not coming directly to Renais Castle to congratulate you and Sis, er, Queen Eirika." Soft pink, almost invisible, spots appeared on Myrrh's cheeks.

Gently, Ephraim squeezed Myrrh's slightly shaking hands. "Myrrh, you do not need to apologize, and please, do not be so formal. Call me Brother, like you used to."

"Yes, Brother." Myrrh looked at Ephraim and continued, the frown still on her face. "The reason that I did not come directly here was because…" She took a deep breath. "I was afraid of Prince Innes."

Ephraim abruptly let go of Myrrh's hands. He was now grabbing both of her shoulders. He looked straight into her eyes. "What do you mean, Myrrh?"

Myrrh turned away from Ephraim, not wanting to meet his piercing gaze. "Brother, we have to go back to Darkling Woods." She paused and looked at the others who had now stopped smiling. "Back to where we had destroyed the Demon King, for I believe that is where Prince Innes had taken Sister."

"Darkling Woods?" The green-haired princess exclaimed loudly. "What makes you so certain that Prince Innes had taken Eirika to Darkling Woods?" She pointed her staff at Myrrh.

Myrrh looked timidly towards L'Arachel before she replied. "Strange things have been occurring in Darling Woods. The evil creatures left behind by the Demon King, have now grown stronger as time passed. They have also begun to multiply in great numbers. My father and I tried to banish them with our powers, but it was almost useless. Our powers seemed to have very little effects on them or none at all." And since my father does not possess a physical body..." Myrrh paused to catch her breath. "It was nearly impossible to hold them off for long".

"Not only that, dark mists have now descended on Darkling Woods. The mists are so thick that the amount of sunlight, no matter how intense, cannot penetrate them. As for the animals inhabiting Darkling Woods, as soon as the mists touched them, they turned violent and started attacking each other."

Myrrh shuddered slightly trying to recall what she had witnessed. "Their eyes started glowing red. Their claws and fangs grew ten times their normal size, and so sharp were they that just a mere scratch could cause mortal injury."

Myrrh continued in her soft voice. "On the other hand, the mists had the opposite effect on the Demon King's minions. They made them stronger and healed their wounds. As soon as my father and I attacked them, their wounds were gone."

L'Arachel spoke impatiently, her staff still pointing at the little girl. "That still does not explain why we should believe you that Prince Innes had taken Eirika there."

Ephraim glared at L'Arachel. "Will you let Myrrh finish, Princess L'Arachel."

"Brother, it is all right." Myrrh smiled weakly, but Ephraim did not smile in return. Instead he said. "Why did you not come straight to me with this matter, Myrrh?"

Myrrh looked apologetically at Ephraim but did not answer his question. "Father and I tried to hold them off, Brother, but at last, we could no longer fight them on our own. That was when I left Darling Woods to seek your aid. However, when I arrived in Renais, I felt a powerful presence, a presence filled with pure hatred and a strong desire to destroy. At first, I did not know where it had come from, but I soon found its source when I saw Prince Innes. I did not know why, but I was suddenly overcome by intense fear at the mere sight of him, and so, I stayed outside the Castle. I suspected that Prince Innes had something to do with what was happening in Darling Woods, and so I hid among the crowd to observe him."

Myrrh turned to look at the group. "My suspicion was confirmed when I heard that Prince Innes had stolen the dagger."

Everyone looked puzzled except for Saleh who was now walking towards Ephraim and Myrrh. "Lady Myrrh, please allow me."

Myrrh acknowledged the sage's request. She nodded her head thankfully. Saleh turned to speak with the group. "During my many travels, I happened to come across a very interesting legend. An elder of an old village that lies to the west of Caer Pelyn told me a story about a Great Dragon who lived thousands of years ago during the reign of the Demon King, Fomortiis."

Saleh paused briefly to look around then continued. "If I remembered correctly, this Great Dragon ruled the Manakete Clan. He and his clan had lived peacefully in the land that we now called Darkling Woods. When the Great Dragon was alive, even the Demon King did not dare attack his clan. The Great Dragon was said to possess immense powers, powers beyond imagination, powers so great that they rivaled that of the sacred stones. All living beings in Magvel respected and revered the Great Dragon. And so great was their reverence for the Great Dragon, that when he died they forged a dagger from his silver blood."

Saleh crossed his arms. "The elder also told me that, embedded in the middle of the dagger was a blue stone, the color of the deep ocean. This stone was called Manakite. It could only be found in the core of a dragon's heart. The people believed that this stone was the source of a dragon's powers."

Cormag, who had been very quiet, suddenly burst out. "The blue stone in the middle of the dagger!" He looked questioningly at Saleh. "It was not just a mere legend, was it?"

Myrrh closed her eyes as if in pain and began softly. "The Great Dragon who lived thousands of years ago was our ancestor. My father and I are his last and direct descendents. We, the Manakete, do indeed possess stones called Manakite. They reside at the core of our hearts." Myrrh placed both her hands on her chest and continued.

"Without the stones, the source of our powers, we cannot live. The color of the Manakite is not always blue. Only those who have lived for so many years and gained so much wisdom and love can turn the Manakite aqua blue." Myrrh opened her eyes. "The dagger forged from the Great Dragon's blood does contain his powers, but without the stone, it is useless."

"And now the dagger is in the hands of that wretched Innes." Ephraim spoke angrily. He tried to calm himself down before turning to Myrrh. "Now I understand. My father had once told me that an ancient race had entrusted the dagger to the Royal House of Renais. Our sages of old had been protecting it and passing it down to us. Because of its importance, it had always been used in the coronation of the Queen of Renais. I just never knew that it had once belonged to the Manakete Clan."

Suddenly, Saleh remembered something. "Wait a minute. The elder also said that the dagger is cursed…." Saleh then went very pale, all traces of blood seemed to have been drained from his face. "Blood…the dagger needs blood! King Ephraim, we must hurry." Saleh grabbed Ephraim's right shoulder tightly.

Ephraim and the others were puzzled "What are you talking about, Master Saleh?"

Myrrh clasped her mouth with both hands. "Oh no. How could I have forgotten about that." Myrrh also went very pale. Her face was now, a mirror image of Saleh's. "In order to awaken the powers of the Great Dragon that sleep within the dagger, a sacrifice needs to be made. The dagger needs to absorb blood, blood of whoever the dagger belongs to."

Ephraim stared unbelievably at the pale faces in front of him. "Eirika's blood!"

Everyone was in the state of shock. They were all standing silently, not wanting to believe what they had just heard. Seth clenched his fists, his blood boiling. How could it have come to this. "Eirika, if anything happened to her…"

"There is no time to waste." Joshua suddenly spoke, his voice slightly shaken. "Ephraim, we must head to Darkling Woods at once."

Ephraim agreed. He turned around quickly and directed his orders. "Lute, Artur, please assist Kyle, Forde, and Franz and look after the people here while I am gone."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Came a reply from both Lute and Artur.

"We will proceed with our initial plan." Joshua spoke. "Master Saleh, Seth, Ephraim, and I will follow Myrrh to Darkling Woods. The others will go back to defend their kingdoms." He paused and looked around. "Please be careful."

Joshua exchanged a quick glance with Vanessa then he strode out of the Great Hall.

Ephraim was about to follow Joshua out when he felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder.

"I am coming with you." Ephraim turned around to find L'Arachel holding her staff. She had struck him with its blunt end, which was now pointing directly at his chest. "Who knows what kind of trouble you and the others will get into. I am sure that my expertise in healing will be needed." The princess then turned to speak to her faithful servant. "Dozla, please go back to Rausten and help my uncle and his men"

Dozla understood the princess. As much as she would like to go back to help her uncle, she just had to go on this mission. Dozla wanted to say something to her but decided against it and only replied. "Yes, Princess. I shall be glad to."

L'Arachel turned around and lifted her face slightly. She looked at Ephraim briefly from the tip of her nose then abruptly exited the Great Hall, leaving Ephraim behind, speechless.

Saleh was also leaving the Great Hall. He was following Ephraim and the others out when he felt something tugging at his robe. He quickly turned around. Ewan was looking at him pleadingly. "Teacher, please let me go with you. I will make sure that I do not slow you and the others down. Please." Now he was yanking and twisting Saleh's robe.

Saleh smiled kindly. "Ewan, I cannot fathom what kind of danger we will have to face. When the time comes, I do not know if I will be able to protect you."

Ewan shook his head. "Teacher, you once said to me that life is short. We must live our lives to the fullest, make choices on our own and never look back with regrets. Well, I have made my decision to go with you. If anything shall happen to me, I will not regret it." Ewan finished, the look of determination on his face.

Saleh smiled again. "Well, Ewan, if you put it that way…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riding on the backs of the Wyverns, the group arrived in Darkling Woods several hours later,

The place was just as Myrrh had described. Dark mists had descended and covered the whole area. The place was filled with a strange atmosphere. As the group flew towards the woods, it was becoming difficult for them to breathe.

It was very cold, and it was getting even colder as the sun was getting ready to set.

L'Arachel trembled uncontrollably. "If we all plan to plunge into the darkness below, I think that now would be a good time for me to cast a protection spell on all of us."

Hearing no objections, L'Arachel proceeded to cast a protection spell, which produced a large orange ball of light that now surrounded the group. As soon as she finished, the group landed on the ground.

Leaving the Wyverns at the edge of the woods, the group marched straight into the dark mists.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside Darkling Woods,

L'Arachel looked at the surroundings and shuddered even though she was no longer cold.

"This place is creepy. And the dark mists, well, what if this filth ruins my porcelain skin?" Ephraim looked at L'Arachel and shook his head wearily.

Myrrh suddenly spoke. "There is a ruined temple not far from where we had fought with the Demon King. The Manakete Clan built this temple to pay our respect to the Great Dragon, but our people abandoned this place a long time ago when the Demon King and his minions had ravaged it. I am certain that Sister is there."

It was very strange, Saleh thought. The place was unusually quiet. From what Myrrh had told them earlier, the dark creatures have been roaming and infesting the woods. If that were true, where were they now? "Lady Myrrh, at this rate the sun will set before we reach our destination. It will not be safe for us to travel in the dark." Saleh turned to his student. "Ewan, please."

Ewan nodded his head and quickly cast a spell. "Torch." The area where the group was standing suddenly lighted up.

"Thank you, Ewan." Said Ephraim. "The light will draw the monsters to us, but we have no choice."

The group continued to walk quietly. Everyone was looking out for the slightest sign of monsters that might attack. However, as the group continued deeper into the woods, it became clear to them that there would be no attacks from the dark creatures. This was very strange indeed.

The ruined temple loomed darkly ahead of them. The group continued to walk at a quicker pace. They stopped abruptly when they reached what appeared to be the entrance to the temple. The heavy stone door was guarded on both sides by two giant dragon statues.

Ewan could not help but stare, as if mesmerized, at the glowing red eyes of the statues. Are those rubies? They were fascinating. They looked so real and lifelike as if the dragons would come alive at any moment.

On closer examination, Ephraim could see that both the door and the statues were covered in golden runes. The letters, Ephraim noticed, looked just like the ones on the stone box that used to contain the dagger.

"Well, so? How are we supposed to get in?" L'Arachel looked at Ephraim and tapped her staff. "Any bright ideas?"

At that moment, Ephraim wanted nothing more than to strangle the conceited princess. But before he could do more than take a few steps towards L'Arachel, the ground shook with such force that it almost threw Ephraim on the ground.

"What is happening?" L'Arachel suddenly grabbed Ephraim's arm, panic rang clearly in her voice. Ephraim tried to yank his arm free from her clutch, but L'Arachel held on tightly. "Princess, you are hurting me."

The ground continued to shake violently. The group looked around trying to figure out the source of the quake. Saleh looked towards Ewan, and he almost stopped breathing. "Ewan!"

All eyes turned on Ewan whose right hand was resting against one of the dragon statues.

Saleh shouted. "Ewan, what are you doing? Get away from that statue. It might collapse on you."

Ewan, with the look of utter horror on his face, replied to his teacher. "T-Teacher, m-my hand. It is stuck! I-I cannot move it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the red eyes of the dragon statues lighted up. The lights emitting from the eyes were so intense, it almost blinded Ephraim and the others.

Ephraim tried to shield L'Arachel with his body, but she would not let him. She was squirming to get away. With great difficulty, Ephraim managed to get L'Arachel to stand still. He shouted at her. "Do not look at the statues!"

Saleh did the same, shouting to Ewan. "Ewan, close your eyes!"

It seemed like an eternity had passed before the blinding lights finally subsided. The ground was no longer shaking, but the dark mists had abruptly become so thick that it was impossible to see anything.

Then, all of a sudden, a deafening screech rang out, and the mists cleared.

Ewan quickly opened his eyes. Towering in front of him were two gigantic dragons the size of ten Wyverns combined. Their eyes were glowing ruby red. Wait, Ruby red?

Ewan's jaws dropped. The dragon statues had come to life!

Ephraim and the others were also shocked. It was Myrrh who finally broke their trance-like state by shouting. "The Guardian Dragons. They are the ones that guard the entrance to the temple!"

Ewan made a run towards his teacher, but he was immediately pulled back. He looked down at his hand. Oh no, it was still glued to the dragon! What was he going to do now?

The two giant dragons thrashed about aggressively, aiming their tails at Ephraim and the others. They ducked just in time to avoid the deadly blows.

Ewan held on to the dragon with his dear life. He did not feel like having his arm ripped out, because that would hurt like crazy.

One of the dragons let out another loud shriek. The entire temple seemed to vibrate in response.

Joshua shouted. "Ephraim, you and I will take care of that dragon." He pointed towards the one on his left. "Master Saleh and Seth, please take care of the other one…aaahh." The sharp scales of the dragon's tail had grazed his leg.

"Your Majesty, are you all right?" Seth shouted, at the same time, trying to avoid the tail of the other dragon.

"Do not worry about me, Seth. Just watch its tail."

The dragons were now furious, having missed the targets. They were now charging angrily at the group, red fire glowing brightly in their mouths.

One of the dragons was charging at Joshua, Saleh, and Seth, while the other one made a rush towards Ephraim, L'Arachel, and Myrrh.

Both dragons spat out large fireballs at the same time. Joshua, Saleh, and Seth dodged the attack easily. Ephraim grabbed Myrrh and L'Arachel and rolled away from the searing heat.

The dragons roared and got ready to charge at the group, their mouths still glowing red.

The dragons opened their mouths to spit more fireballs.

'Bang' Joshua and Seth barely dodged the fireball this time, but Saleh was not quick enough. The fireball hit the sage in the back, knocking him unconscious. His back was severely burned.

"Saleh." Seth shouted, but there was no reply.

Ewan was stunned. His teacher was lying motionless on the ground!

Despite their size, the dragons were very fast. Another fireball followed the first.

'Bang'

There was not enough time to avoid the attack! In the blink of an eye, Ephraim, Myrrh, and L'Arachel were engulfed in flame!

Both Joshua and Seth could not believe their eyes. They shouted at the same time. "NOOOOO!"

The dragons were relentless, charging both Joshua and Seth, this time, to finish off the two.

Joshua and Seth could not recover from the shock. They were rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the ball of flame that swallowed their friends.

Too late, when Joshua and Seth turned around, two large, crimson fireballs were rushing towards them!

Suddenly, someone shouted. "Duck!"

Joshua and Seth barely ducked their heads when someone jumped in front of them.

The two fireballs combined into one and hit the stranger with full force.

'BANG'

Both Joshua and Seth closed their eyes, preparing for the impact, but nothing came.

When they finally opened their eyes, the stranger was still standing, unscathed! But how?

Joshua and Seth noticed that in the right hand of their rescuer, was a long, sharp blade. Then, at the same time, both realized what had just happened. Their rescuer slashed the fireball in half with his blade!

Their rescuer turned around and gave them a lazy smile. "What were you two thinking, standing there like stone statues? Then abruptly, he burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha ha, get it? Stone statues. You know, like the dragons. Ha ha ha ha."

Joshua and Seth could not believe their eyes. Their savior was none other than…Gerik! Both quickly got up, many questions were at the tip of their tongues.

Gerik suddenly looked serious. "We will save our reunion for later. Right now, we have got to take care of those ugly statues." Gerik gestured towards the dragons that were fuming and thrashing in fury, all the while chuckling at his little joke. He thought it was very funny.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19:Gerik, the Desert Tiger

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 19: Gerik, the Desert Tiger

In front of the ruined temple,

Standing in front of the entrance to the ruined temple built by the Manakete clan was a man in his early thirties. In his right hand, held a long, extremely sharp blade still smoldering after having slashed a massive fireball just seconds earlier.

The man appeared to be calm and unshaken by what had just taken place, as if to him, this was an everyday occurrence. Stood just a few steps behind him were the two young men whose lives he had just saved.

"We will save our reunion for later. Right now, we have got to take care of those ugly statues." The man spoke seriously, but the effect was marred by a grin on his face.

The two men were still stunned, not quite able to react to what was going on. They continued to stare at the man in disbelief. Finally one of them, Joshua, managed to speak. "I-I just cannot believe this! It is you, Gerik!"

Before Gerik had a chance to say anything, another figure appeared from behind a large tree and startled the two men. The figure was holding an odd looking sword in its right hand. Gerik stood still, not at all affected by the sudden appearance.

Joshua and Seth spoke at the same time. "Marisa." The figure moved closer and nodded its head.

"You are here too!" Spoke Joshua staring at the woman with light purple hair. The odd shaped sword in her hand was gleaming dangerously.

Gerik shook his head and smiled uneasily. "You two had better snap out of it."

Staring across the muddy ground at his opponents, Gerik could see two enormous wingless dragons whose eyes were glowing bloody red, their mouths breathing fire. The dragons' scaly heads and tails were moving menacingly from side to side, getting ready for another wave of attacks.

"Geez, these guys sure are ugly." Muttered Gerik. He suddenly turned around and shouted. "Here they come."

Marisa quickly raised her sword and the two men standing next to her finally snapped to attention.

There was another deafening roar, and one of the dragons finally moved, charging aggressively towards Joshua and Seth. The ground around them shook violently.

The other dragon opened its wide mouth and spat out another huge fireball aiming at Gerik and Marisa.

'Bang'

Once again, Gerik slashed the fireball in half, but the force from it almost knocked him off his feet. He turned to look at his partner and spoke. "Darn it, these guys are strong. A couple more of these, and I just might not make it."

Gerik turned around and saw just in time that Joshua and Seth barely dodged the other dragon's ferocious attack.

The dragons continued their vicious assaults on the group. Though, as time passed, It was becoming harder and harder for them to avoid the violent attacks from the dragons.

The group had tried slashing the dragons with their swords, but it proved too difficult. Since the dragons' scales were so sharp, getting close enough to strike was near impossible. The scales kept grazing and cutting into their skins. On top of that, the heat emitting from the dragons' mouths was unbearably intense.

The dragons roared once more and Seth shouted. "We cannot keep avoiding their attacks forever. The longer we prolong this battle, the more difficult it will be for us to counterattack them. We are all running out of strength." Seth looked around at his comrades who were now panting heavily, their chests heaving.

"But how do we stop them?" Joshua spoke before looking hopelessly towards the two dragons. "There must be a way…"

Suddenly, someone shouted over the roars. The group quickly looked up.

It was Ewan! They had almost entirely forgotten about him!

Ewan was still hanging and grabbing on to the dragon. However, he had become very pale, and the group soon found out why. Ewan was bleeding heavily from where the scales had cut deeply into his arms and legs. His grip was loosening. He had lost a great deal of blood!

"T-The eyes….t-take out their eyes." Shouted Ewan weakly.

Ewan was right! Why did they not think of this? The eyes had to be the sources of the dragons' powers!

Gerik shouted back to Ewan. "Got it. Hang on, kid."

Ewan nodded his head feebly.

Wasting no time, Gerik signaled to Joshua and Seth to get ready. They would take out one dragon at a time.

"Marisa will lure one of the dragons towards you two while I distract the other. When she gives the signal, you two take out its eyes." Shouted Gerik.

"Yes, Chief." Replied Marisa.

Joshua and Seth promptly nodded their heads. "Right." Both raised their swords, getting ready in position.

Gerik rushed towards one of the dragons, raising his sword over his head and yelling at the same time. "Come get me you hideous beast!" The dragon roared.

Marisa did the same, raising her sword and shouting something at the other dragon trying to lure it towards Joshua and Seth. It seemed to work! The dragon charged violently at Marisa who easily dodged the attack and was now running towards Joshua and Seth.

"Ready, Seth?" Joshua looked at Seth.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Marisa finally yelled. "Now."

Both Joshua and Seth leapt off the ground at the same time. In a blink of an eye, there was a loud agonizing screech coming from the dragon. Their swords had struck the targets!

Immediately, thick, purple blood shot out from both of the dragon's eyes. The dragon thrashed about fiercely, whipping its tail haphazardly in the air. The scream continued for a few more minutes and then the dragon went utterly still.

Mission accomplished. Thought Joshua and Seth. However, this was no time to be celebrating. Gerik was still struggling with the other dragon trying to save Ewan.

The dragon opened its mouth and tried to bite off Gerik's head, but Gerik was faster. He quickly rolled away from its mouth. It missed him by only a couple of inches. "Darn it! That was close." He looked back at Ewan who was still hanging loosely by the dragon's side, his eyes barely opened. Gerik knew that he had to end it quickly, for Ewan was beginning to lose his consciousness!

He shouted at Ewan. "Kid, do not close your eyes."

At that moment, Joshua, and Seth, rushed towards the dragon, drawing its attention away from Gerik, giving him and Marisa just about enough time to strike.

Gerik gave Marisa a signal, and both plunged their swords. 'BAM'

Sure enough, purple blood sprang out from the dragon's eye sockets. The dragon fell with a loud thud onto the ground, shrieking in anguish. It continued to twist and turn viciously, but like the fist dragon, it too, went completely still.

Fortunately for Ewan, the dragon did not land on its right side where he was hanging loosely from one of its large scales. The dragon could have crushed him into bits and pieces. Gerik thought then sighed in relief. He seriously had not thought about this before he attacked the dragon and neither had the others.

Ewan was finally able to remove his hand from the dragon. However, as soon as he did, he fell onto the ground, no longer conscious.

The group was drenched in purple blood. There was not a single inch of their bodies that was not covered in the repulsive liquid. Joshua made a feeble attempt to wipe the blood off, but immediately realized that it was quite hopeless and gave up.

Joshua looked disgustedly at the stilled bodies of the dragons and heaved a sigh of relief. "That was one tough battle."

"It was." Replied Seth, giving Joshua a tight smile.

The group turned their attention towards Ewan and Saleh who were both lying unmoving on the ground. They must treat their wounds immediately!

Then all of a sudden, Gerik seemed to have remembered something. He turned to look at the fireball that had engulfed Ephraim and his friends and was shocked to see that after all this time it was still burning brightly!

He turned his head around swiftly and yelled in the direction of one of the ancient looking trees. "Natasha, put out the fire already. Do you really want to burn those three alive?"

Joshua and Seth abruptly stopped in their tracks and turned around to find Natasha slowly emerged from behind a large tree, looking embarrassed. She was blushing profusely. "I-I am so very sorry, Gerik. I, uh…I was overwhelmed by the battle and had completely forgotten about the flame." Natasha finished shyly. She moved quickly to stand in front of the burning fireball and waved her wand in the air.

Immediately, the burning flame died out and heavy smoke took its place.

However, when the thick smoke finally cleared, Joshua and Seth were both astonished to find three figures standing in the middle of where the fireball used to be. They could clearly see that, surrounding the figures was a large ball of blue light.

Both men looked at each other wildly. Joshua finally burst out. "Ephraim, Myrrh, and L'Arachel! You are all safe!"

Ephraim was the first of the three to speak. Amazed, he slowly waved one of his hands in front of him, at the blue light. "Yes, thanks to this barrier." He turned to look at Joshua and Seth and continued. "We were very fortunate. Just when the fireball was about to consume us, we were all covered in this blue light. It protected us against the burning flame."

Natasha smiled then waved her wand again, and the blue light disappeared.

"Your Majesties, Myrrh, I am glad that you three are all right." Spoke Gerik cheerfully. Marisa simply nodded her head towards the trio.

Ephraim was pleasantly surprised when he turned around to find not just Gerik but Marisa and Natasha as well!. He rushed towards them and proceeded to give each a firm handshake, thanking them.

L'Arachel who looked as though her pride had been severely wounded crossed her arms and managed a single 'thank you' to Natasha before turning to walk away towards the injured.

The others followed, turning their attention to Saleh and Ewan who were still unconscious.

Natasha rushed to Ewan's side and began casting a healing spell while L'Arachel was doing the same with Saleh.

After some considerable amount of time had passed, the two began to stir. One by one, their wounds started to heal. At last, they finally came to. Ewan was the first to get up. He stared confusingly at the worrying faces in front of him, unable to speak for a while. Then, he finally managed to get a weak 'thank you' out before turning red at the sight of Natasha who was smiling kindly at him.

With a little help from Seth, the sage was finally able to stand up, the burn on his back, though already treated, was still hurting him. He winced in pain but quickly turned his attention to his student.

Saleh looked at his pupil and grimaced at the sight of several deep cuts on Ewan's arms and legs. It seemed that the bleeding had stopped, but the cuts looked awful. They would leave scars on his small body.

Saleh spoke in a quiet voice full of emotions. "I was not able to save you, Ewan. Forgive me, I…" However, before Saleh could finish, Ewan quickly interrupted his teacher. "Teacher, do you remember what I said before we left Renais Castle? Well, this is a result of my decision, please do not give it a second thought."

Ewan walked up to Saleh and smiled. He gave his teacher a hug, burying his head in Saleh's robe. Saleh patted Ewan's head lovingly before releasing him. "Thank you, Ewan."

After having their wounds treated by both L'Arachel and Natasha, the group headed towards the entrance to the ruined temple.

Now that the Guardian Dragons were out of their way, it did not take the group long at all to move the stone door. With one strong push from Seth, the door slid open slowly revealing a dark passage. The group then proceeded cautiously into the temple.

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Inside the ruined temple

Once again, Ewan cast a spell. "Torch."

In less than a second, the dark path lighted up.

The passage twisted and turned as the group continued to walk, single file, with Myrrh leading the group, down the stairs that seemed to lead them deeper into the temple. The place was built like a maze.

At one point, Myrrh explained to the group that the place was constructed like a labyrinth in order to prevent the bandits from entering and desecrating the sacred tomb of the Great Dragon.

The air inside the temple was suffocating and damp. As L'Arachel noticed, walking quietly behind Ephraim, there were long vines and mosses everywhere covering just about everything she chanced to set her eyes upon. And on top of this, the place smelled like, well…centuries of dust. L'Arachel sighed. Good thing there were no mice though. She just could not stand those little critters.

Along the walls, the group noticed, there were many drawings that depicted the life story of the Great Dragon: the place he was born, his family, what demons he had slain single-handedly, and so forth.

Gerik looked interestingly at the faded drawings and then broke the silence by saying. "I am glad that we made it here to Darkling Woods. I would hate to miss seeing these." He gestured his hand at the drawings.

Joshua, who was walking behind Seth suddenly turned around to look past Natasha and Marisa at Gerik. "Gerik, how did all of you get here in time to save us?"

The question had also been plaguing Ephraim and Seth for quite a while now. They looked back at the trio, waiting for an answer.

Surprisingly, it was Natasha who answered. She looked up shyly at Joshua who was standing in front of her, smiling. Seeing his smile, Natasha began to blush like a ripe tomato. She just wished, at that moment, that the light had not been so bright, for she was sure that Joshua would notice the red spots on her cheeks. Finally, she managed to calm down enough to speak. "W-Well, it is a long story, Your Majesty."

Joshua continued to smile at Natasha, which somehow made her nervous. Joshua placed his right hand gently on Natasha's shoulder and spoke, his voice sounding more like a whisper in her ears. "Natasha, have I not told you before to just call me Joshua?" He tightened his grip on her shoulder and continued. "And please, I would very much like to know how the three of you got together to save our lives. I am certain that Ephraim and the others would like to know as well." Joshua turned to look at his companions.

With the exception of L'Arachel, everyone nodded their heads. The green-haired princess had a sullen expression on her face.

Shyly, Natasha proceeded. "Well, er, it all started when I had received an urgent letter from Father Moulder in Frelia. At the time I was staying at a church in one of the towns in Jehanna where the damages were extensive. Y-You see, to me, Father Moulder was a great teacher. He had been kind enough to allow me to write him should I have any questions about my study. He was a great help to me although I am certain that I was nothing but a burden to him." Natasha still remembered the kind look on Father Moulder's gentle face.

Natasha continued to blush, since Joshua had not released her shoulder. "In his letters, Father Moulder told me all that had happened in Frelia, particularly, about the abrupt changes in Prince Innes and Princess Tana. Father Moulder was very worried. And when he learned that Prince Innes had dispatched the royal armies just a couple of days prior to the coronation of King Ephraim and Queen Eirika, he suspected that Prince Innes was up to something. And so, in his last letter, he had asked me to travel to Renais to warn the king and queen." Natasha turned to look at Gerik.

Gerik nodded his head and spoke calmly. "As for Marisa and I, we had been traveling around taking odd jobs here and there. During our travel, we came across a very interesting piece of news from a refugee who had been in one of the villages scattering around Darkling Woods. The news was pretty disturbing. The man had told us about the dark creatures massing in Darkling Woods, and about a large troop of Frelian armies stationing on the outskirts of his town." Gerik frowned.

Unexpectedly, Marisa spoke, her voice cold. "On our way to Darkling Woods, the chief and I ran into Natasha who was on her way to Renais. After we had exchanged information, the Chief convinced her to come to Darkling Woods with us, which she agreed. We reached the ruined temple a few days later and were about to enter it when you all showed up." Marisa finished, her face still emotionless.

Natasha was about to open her mouth again to say something to Joshua when suddenly, a piercing scream could be heard echoing throughout the temple.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20:Evil Descended

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 20: Evil Descended

Deep inside the ruined temple, the resting place of the Great Dragon,

The screaming continued to echo loudly throughout the sacred temple, sending chills through Ephraim's entire body. The same could be said about his companions who looked anxiously at one another. The piercing scream was full of agony, a scream of a tormented soul. Judging by the sound of it, the scream had come from a woman, but who?

Despite the fact that his subordinates had known him as a man who never showed his emotions, a man who was always calm and collected in any situations, Ephraim grimaced as if in pain as the screaming continued. He cursed softly to himself as he urged his feet to move faster forward down the moss-covered spiral stairs.

'Could that scream be coming from Tana, whose mind was driven mad by her crazed brother? Or perhaps it was coming from…Eirika? No, it just could not be!' Ephraim denied fervently the possibility that the agonizing scream that they had just heard could have come from his beloved sister. Ephraim knew that admitting to this would mean that he would have to accept another possibility, one that he could not bring himself to believe.

Had Innes tortured Eirika to learn the secret of the dagger? And if so, what had he done to her to make her scream like that? Once again Ephraim winced. Eirika knew absolutely nothing apart from the fact that the dagger was a legacy, a remnant that their father had left behind, something for her to cherish. She knew nothing about the Great Dragon and the dark powers behind the dagger.

The more Ephraim thought about the possibility, the more frightened he became for her life. "Oh, Eirika". Ephraim clenched his hands into tight fists and turned around only to find the Silver Knight staring intensely back at him, clearly he was distressed. 'The same thought must have occurred to Seth'. Ephraim looked at the other man with sympathy. If his suspicion had been right, and that Seth did indeed share his sister's feelings, then right at this moment the Silver Knight, too, must be in anguish.

Ephraim turned around and continued to rush down the stairs, all the while not being able to shake off the images of his tortured sister.

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Meanwhile,

Eirika found herself sitting alone in the dark. It was so dark that she could not even make out her own hands when she tried to look at them. "Where am I?" Eirika spoke quietly trying to reassure herself that she was not dreaming. Nothing…, no answers, no sounds, not even an echo. Eirika sat still, her heart beating wildly while she tried to adjust her eyes to the dark surroundings. After what seemed like an eternity, she could finally see that she was sitting on what appeared to be a smooth stone altar. The first thought that came to her mind was that the stone was damp and cold. Eirika started to shiver uncontrollably.

"Hello?" Eirika spoke louder this time, but again only silence followed. Undaunted, she tried again. "Hello, can anyone hear me?". Silence…

'Well, sitting here and do nothing will not make this situation any better'. Thought Eirika. She then got up from the stone altar and started to walk slowly in the dark, hoping that the direction that she was going was the right one. Eirika had a chance to take only a few small steps when all of a sudden the solid ground underneath her feet gave way!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" Eirika frantically tried to grab on to the nearest object, but there was nothing for her to grab on to! "Noooooooo" Erika screamed. Then suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her from falling into the dark void. Eirika felt like her heart was going to burst forth from her chest. Finally, she looked up to see who her rescuer was.

Despite the darkness, she could make out her savior's face as if it was clear as day. The strong jaw line, the gentle slope of a nose that she loved so much all these years. It was… Seth! Seth had once again come to her rescue. Eirika could not believe her eyes. Immediately, she was overcome by myriad of emotions, so strong that she could not describe them in words. Her heart began to beat wildly again, but this time, for a different reason.

Eirika was about to say something when Seth spoke, his voice sounded as if it had come from a distant place. "Eirika, I will save you". Eirika looked confusingly at Seth, but he just spoke the same words over and over. "What are you talking about Seth? You have saved me. You have come to my rescue." Again, Seth just repeated the words. "Eirika, I will save you."

Eirika was about to ask what he meant when she felt her hand slipping away from his grasp. 'No, this cannot be happening.' Eirika started to panic. She looked again at Seth, but now she could not see his face. Her hand continued to slip. Eirika tried using her other hand to grab on to Seth's but it suddenly felt like lead and would not move. Eirika panicked even more, but Seth remained impervious to what was happening. Then it happened. Her hand continued to slip until finally it was no longer in Seth's grasp.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" Eirika was falling. The last thing she heard was Seth's chanting the same words over and over…

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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Eirika came to with a start. She found herself yet again in a dark place. However, this time she could barely make out the tall pillars and the high stone altar covered with long twisted vines not far from where she was sitting. To her far right, there appeared to be a small dragon statue with light emitting faintly from its mouth. Eirika surveyed her surroundings once more and came to a conclusion that she must be in some sort of a chamber. The chamber was quite large. Its interiors were covered in various draconic motifs. The chamber smelled like centuries of dusts.

Next, Eirika tried to look for an exit, which she found without difficulty, since it was located not far from where she was. However, Eirika saw that a big stone slab was blocking it. Eirika also noticed that there was some kind of ancient writings on it. The letterings did not look like anything that she had seen before. "I wonder what they say…"

Then, suddenly a single scream pierced the stilled air. Eirika was startled. At first, she was uncertain and had, for a moment, thought that it was just her own imagination, but she soon realized the source. It seemed to be coming from the end of the chamber, from a girl clad in a dark robe. The girl was on the ground writhing in pain clutching her left hand, a pool of dark liquid surrounding her. Eirika could see that there was a deep gash on her left palm. Then, the memory of what happened earlier came rushing back, and Eirika went absolutely still, her face drained of any signs of blood.

Eirika remembered everything with avid clarity, from this morning when her brother had handed her the dagger, right up to the moment of her capture by Prince Innes. Prince Innes! Speaking of Prince Innes, where was he? Eirika looked around for any signs of the prince, but all she saw was darkness. 'That girl must be Tana! Oh Tana, what had Prince Innes done to you?'.

Eirika tried to get up and help her friend, but found it impossible. To her surprise, she found that her hands and legs were bound tightly by coarse ropes that cut into her skin when she made the slightest movement. Tana continued to scream.

"Tana, Tana, can you hear me? Tana, it is I, Eirika" said Eirika, hoping that her friend had not completely lost her mind and could still recognize her voice. However, the screaming did not stop.

Eirika tried again to move, but before she could get very far, she lost her balance and fell from one of the stone steps she was leaning against. She rolled down the rest of the steps and landed on her right shoulder with a loud thud. Eirika yelped in pain.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk, this is very unladylike, especially for a future queen of Renais." Eirika craned her neck back to find Innes leaning comfortably against one of the large pillars looking smugly down at her. 'Where did he come from?' There were just her and Tana in this place when she looked not more than a minute ago.

"Teleportation spell, my dear Princess Eirika, surely you have heard of it." As if he had read her mind, Innes promptly answered. "The spell is not that useful, you know, since it can only transport the one person that casts the spell."

Eirika stared confusingly at Innes. 'Since when had he become a mage? Since when had he learned these spells? First, it was those fireballs that he used on Ewan and now this. 'What was going on?'

"Awww, don't look so dumbfounded my dear, it does not become you. I do not wish to acquire an imbecile for a wife, you know." Spoke Innes calmly as he moved closer to Eirika.

"Wife? Just what do you mean? What do you want from me, Prince Innes? And where is this place? What have you done to Tana? What-" Before Eirika had time to finish the sentence, Innes quickly grabbed her chin and lifted it up so her face was mere inches away from his. Then, without warning, he brutally crushed her lips with his own. Eirika yelped in pain, since her neck was twisted in an awkward angle. Disgusted, Eirika bit Innes' lower lip hoping he would let go of her, but Innes continued as if that did not bother him in the least.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Innes broke off the kiss, crimson liquid trickling from the wound where Eirika had bitten him. The prince spat out the blood and calmly spoke in a chilling voice. "Will you never shut up Eirika?" He did not let go of her chin. "Or perhaps you would like me to shut you up with this?" Innes sneered and proceeded to pull out an object from a pouch he kept tied to his black-red garb. Eirika immediately recognize the object. It was HER dagger, the very same one that Ephraim had given her this morning. The dagger gleamed dangerously in Innes' hand. The smooth aqua blue stone set at the center of the dagger began to glow.

"What do you plan to do with my dagger, Prince Innes? ANSWER ME" Eirika spoke angrily when it appeared that Innes had completely ignored her and was now staring intensely at the dagger.

"Hahahahahahaha, ahhahahahah." Innes abruptly loosened his hold on Eirika's chin but did not let it go. He continued to laugh hysterically. "Hahahaha, sometimes I do forget that you are impatient, Princess Eirika. Intelligent, but impatient. But I suppose that is why I desire you so much. You will, without a doubt, become mine, Princess, hahahahahaha" Innes looked menacingly at her.

Eirika did not know whether or not it was just her own imagination playing tricks on her, but for a split second Eirika saw something in Innes' eyes, something sinister lurking deep within. His eye color changed for just an instant, but that instant was enough to make Eirika tremble despite the fact that her gown was made from wool-like material.

"What I plan to do with this artifact you asked? Well, Princess Eirika, you shall soon find out." Abruptly, Innes let go of Eirika and turned toward his sister. "But first, I must do something about that screaming." Innes unsheathed his sword and started walking slowly towards Tana.

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The screaming seemed to have stopped completely. Noticed Seth anxiously. Had anything happened to Eirika? Had Innes done something to her? Despite the stifling atmosphere of the ruined temple surrounding him and his companions, cold sweats broke out on Seth's forehead. For the first time in his life, Seth was scared. At first, he could not fully comprehend what the tightness that he had been feeling in his chest was. All he was able to discern was that it began the moment that he learned that Eirika had been forcibly taken away by Prince Innes. Now that he was here, at this cursed place, he finally understood that the tightness he felt was genuine fear, fear that was gripping at the core of his heart, the core of his being, fear for the life of someone he held dear.

Accompanying this newfound feeling, was a sense of regret, regret that he could not save the only one person that mattered to him. Seth regretted that he had never even tried to tell Eirika of his true feelings when he had the chance. How was he to live with himself if anything were to happen to her? Seth gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He remained silent, deep in thought.

Abruptly, a rough hand grabbed his right shoulder and jolted him back to reality.

"Looks like we have finally reached the bottom of this labyrinth." Spoke Gerik. The Desert Tiger was busy surveying their surroundings, his silent, purple-haired partner was doing the same.

Ephraim and the others also scanned the area. It seemed that the group had finally reached the bottom of the stairs, where a massive marble statue of the Great Dragon could barely be seen standing guard at the center of a large, dome-like chamber. The chamber was almost pitch black safe for faint lights coming from the jewel-encrusted eyes of the small dragon motifs looming overhead. The motifs were cleverly designed to blend in with the ceiling of the chamber giving the illusion that a horde of dragons were flying above. The chamber was surprisingly cold, and it smelled strongly of… "Hmmmm…" Ewan twitched his nose, trying to figure out what the familiar smell was.

"How are we to proceed, pray tell, if we can barely see anything." Spoke the green-haired princess, annoyance clear in her voice.

"Allow me then, Princess L'Arachel." Ewan smiled brightly and walked a few steps ahead of the group getting ready to cast yet another 'Torch' spell.

Then, as if something had struck him, Saleh quickly grabbed Ewan. "Watch out, Ewan!" The spell had been cast. Ewan lurched forward, his legs felt nothing underneath.

Suddenly, the chamber lit up as if the sun was immediately positioned right above their heads. The intensity of the brightness was so overwhelming that the group had to shield their eyes. L'Arachel shrieked. "What have you done?"

Ewan shut his eyes tightly. He had fallen over, but was caught by his robe, which was still in his teacher's clutch. Ewan did not dare open his eyes. "Teacher, what do I do now?"

L'Arachel was about to say something when the sage spoke while lifting Ewan up and out of danger. "You will remain still, Ewan, and just wait, the brightness should die down a little after a while, just be patient." Ewan nodded while placing his feet on solid ground.

True to his words, after a few moments had passed, the brightness in the chamber began to dim until it was bearable to open their eyes again.

Ewan opened his eyes slowly and the first thing he saw was a gentle smile on his teacher's face. "That was too close, Ewan. Look at your feet"

Ewan complied. He gasped loudly when he finally saw where he was. He was standing right on the edge of one of the large stone pillars with its base extending down below, into a pool of dark colored liquid that smelled a lot like…lamp oil!.

When Ewan looked up, he was yet surprised by another sight that greeted him. The entire chamber, including the statue of the Great Dragon at the center was surrounded by a pool of lamp oil, like a moat, now burning brightly by the spell that he had cast not long ago. 'So, that was what caused the blinding light'.

So deep did the pool appear that Ewan did not even dare try to fathom its depth. He quickly turned around to thank his teacher for saving his life. Had he really fallen down below, he would have been burned to death. 'Not a pretty death.' Ewan shuddered, the mental image that he was now having was too much for him.

Joshua, who had been contemplating something for a while now, finally spoke. "We have to find a way to reach the statue of the Great Dragon at the center. I just know it will lead us to Princess Eirika and Prince Innes. Isn't that right, Myrrh, Natasha?"

Myrrh quickly nodded her head in agreement. "I can feel a strong evil presence coming from that direction."

Joshua continued to stare at Natasha, still waiting for an answer. "Y-Yes, your Majes- er I mean Joshua. I, too, can feel a strong power coming from there." Natasha managed to speak shyly. Joshua smiled, noticing that she had turned bright red once again.

"There" Marisa pointed the tip of her sword towards a large boat tied to the end of one of the pillars not far away from where the group was standing.

L'Arachel's gaze followed Marisa's sword and stopped dead in its track. She was appalled by what she saw. L'Arachel made a disgusted face and turned to speak to Marisa. "So, let me get this straight, you are suggesting that we all get on that shabby-looking, on-the-verge-of-being-scrap-woods of a boat, sail through the burning flames of death, and expect my beautiful face to come out unharmed?"

Marisa just nodded her head. This infuriated the princess. "Grrrrrh, I have had it with you and your silence!" L'Arachel pointed the tip of her staff at Marisa. "By the way, there is no way, I am getting on that boat!" Screeched L'Arachel.

Marisa calmly ignored L'Arachel's outburst and started walking away towards the boat. L'Arachel was now enraged. She was not going to let that purple haired girl ignore her like this. What that girl did was an atrocious act against a royalty. 'I am a princess of Rausten after all'.

Before L'Arachel could proceed further, Ephraim firmly placed his hand on L'Arachel's shoulder. "That is quite enough, Princess. This is no time to be fighting among ourselves. We have got more urgent matter at hand." Ephraim stared gravely at L'Arachel. This seemed to have calmed her down.

"It would seem that the boat is the only means of transportation that we have." Ephraim continued. "We really have no choice. Let us hurry to the boat, for time is running out." The urgency in Ephraim's voice compelled the others to move forward.

The group quickly got on the boat. As they stepped onto the boat, they noticed that the wooden boat, despite its shabby exteriors, was very sturdy.

The boat was also big enough to accommodate everyone. Seth, Salah, and Ewan were standing at the front of the boat, followed right behind by Gerik and Marisa, both of them fell into a deep conversion almost immediately when they got on the boat. Joshua and Natasha were standing right behind Gerik, but it seemed that the two were in their own world. Natasha blushed once more after having lost her balance and was caught just in time by Joshua, who promptly put his arms around her. Ephraim and Myrrh were standing at the end of the boat looking at the green-haired princess whose discomfort was apparent.

Surprisingly, the boat appeared to be unaffected in anyway by the burning flames. Ephraim also noticed that some kind of a barrier seemed to have descended on them, for they did not feel the searing heat of the surrounding flames. The boat began to move slowly as if having a mind of its own towards the center of the chamber.

As the group came closer to the statue of the Great Dragon, it became apparent that the statue was ancient, thousands of years old judging from the color of the marble and the lengthy vines that covered most of its body. Although, the stone statue was enormous and terrifying to behold up close, the expression on the Great Dragon's face was one of kindness and compassion, the face of someone who had gained so much wisdom throughout the years and so much love and respect from his people.

Surrounding the statue of the Great Dragon were six smaller statues. The six statues were wearing armors of various designs. Their expressions did not look anything like that of the Great Dragon. They looked like they were either in pain or very angry. 'They must be the statues of his guards'. Ephraim thought quietly to himself. Like Ephraim, his companions could also feel the sacredness of the place.

Having taken one look at one of the smaller statues, Myrrh began to shake uncontrollably. "Myrrh, What is the matter? Are you cold?" Ephraim asked worriedly. He put both his hands on her shoulders.

"I apologize, Brother, for having worried you so." Myrrh spoke apologetically before stealing one more glance at the dragon statues. "Although, this is my first time being this deep inside the temple, I do feel like I have seen these marble statues before, but I just cannot remember exactly from where…"

The boat continued to inch slowly towards the center of the chamber. Finally, it reached its destination.

The boat creaked forebodingly as the group quickly got out of it.

As soon as their feet touched the sacred ground, it began to shake violently. The quake was so strong; it nearly knocked Ephraim and the others off their feet. When they turned around to look at the boat, it was no longer there. As if there was an invisible hand pulling it, the boat quickly floated away, eliminating their only means of escape.

The ground continued to shake relentlessly, sending the surrounding flames upward. The heat coming from the flames had intensified tenfold. The magnitude of the quake was so great that the six dragon statues as well as the surrounding pillars began to collapse, bringing big chunks of marble to the ground one by one. "Look out!" Shouted Ephraim as he quickly grabbed both L'Arachel and Myrrh by their waists, forcing the three of them to roll on the ground, just when the head of one of the dragon statues was about to come crushing down on them. The ground did not stop shaking as Ephraim looked around trying to see if his companions were safe.

Saleh and Ewan were shooting out fireballs at the falling rocks, breaking them up into smaller pieces while Joshua, with Natasha safely hidden behind his back, managed to slash all the big marble chunks effortlessly with his sword. Seth was doing just as well by himself using his sword to hack at the big falling stones.

Gerik and Marisa were doing precisely the same thing when just as quickly as it had started, the quake stopped. Because it was so abrupt, Gerik lost his balance and almost fell into the pool of burning flames waiting for him down below had his partner, Marisa, not grabbed him by his wrist just in time. "Damn, that was too close. Thanks, Marisa." Gerik did not let go of Marisa's hand, but instead, squeezed it lightly. At that, Marisa blushed slightly but managed to turn her face away before the Desert Tiger had a chance to notice. "Don't mention it, Chief."

"Is everyone all right?" Shouted Ephraim as he looked at his companions. However, before anyone had a chance to reply, thick black smoke rose from the ground and covered the entire group in a veil of dark fog.

"What's going on?" L'Arachel immediately started coughing.

"Do not inhale the fog, Princess. Try to cover your nose and mouth. The fog might be poisonous." Saleh warned the princess then turned around to the group. "Everyone, cover your nose and mouth, quick!" But it was too late, Ewan, who was standing right at the center of the smoke dropped to the ground like a log. "EWAN!" Saleh rushed to Ewan's side. The sage picked up his student and shook him slightly to wake him up, but it was no use. There was no response from Ewan. However, Saleh noticed that Ewan was still breathing however shallow the breathing was.

Then suddenly, the smoke gathered in one spot, as if it was being sucked by a powerful force, right below the statue of the Great Dragon. Then without warning, the smoke turned into a small vortex, which as time passed, was getting bigger and bigger, sucking in all the broken marble pieces on the ground. The wind was so strong that it began to pull in Ephraim and the group into it. Immediately, Joshua, Ephraim, Seth, and Gerik jammed their swords to the ground and held on to them tightly. Joshua grabbed Natasha and put his arms around her trying to shield her from the ferocious wind blowing at them. Gerik did the same with Marisa while Ephraim grabbed Myrrh and L'Arachel.

Seth reached for the sage and his student, but with them being so close to the center of the vortex, it was impossible. In fact, it was too late!

Saleh, with Ewan still in his clutch, got sucked right into the black vortex! "NOOOO!" Seth and the others could only shout after their friends in despair.

At the same time that Saleh and Ewan disappeared into the vortex, Ephraim and the others noticed that the bits and pieces of the broken marble statues that was sucked into the vortex began to form into a massive shape.

The raging wind gradually died down, and in its place, a roar that sounded like hundreds of Wyverns being slaughtered could clearly be heard. So loud was the roar that Ephraim and his companions had to cover their ears though that did not help much as the sound still penetrated their skulls. Ephraim felt like his head was going to explode.

Natasha, who could no longer bear to watch Joshua and the others suffer, quickly got up from where she was crouching down beside Joshua. With both her hands removed from her ears, Natasha raised her staff high in the air and began chanting a spell. Without any protections, her ears began to bleed. "Natasha, what are you doing? Stop this at once, you are going to hurt yourself!" Joshua shouted desperately at her.

Natasha turned around and smiled sadly at the king of Jehanna. Joshua looked at her in horror and shook his head. "No, not this, Natasha. Don't do this."

Natasha ignored Joshua's plea. She continued chanting the spell. Then, bright green light was released from her raised staff. It was shot directly at the massive shape behind the vortex.

It seemed to work! The deafening roar abruptly stopped. However, the spell consumed a great deal of Natasha's power. Exhausted, Natasha collapsed onto the ground, her white robe covered in blood. "Natasha." Immediately, Joshua rushed to her side.

"Joshua, get Natasha away from there!" Ephraim suddenly shouted.

The vortex in front of Joshua began to vanish. In its place, emerged the most terrifying creature one had ever laid eyes on.

Standing in front of Joshua, was a dragon golem. Its entire body was constructed from the broken pieces of marble statues that had collapsed earlier during the quake. With a pair of stone wings on its back, the golem was enormous. Joshua and the others could not help but be fascinated by the golem's eyes. They were glowing bright red, matching the color of the surrounding flames. However, that was not the only thing that caught everyone's attention.

Everyone stopped breathing at the same time when they looked at the golem's chest. They were utterly horrified at the image in front of them.

Stuck right in the middle of the golem's chest were the sage Saleh and the unconscious Ewan! Not only that, only half of their bodies emerged from the golem's chest as if the rest of their bodies had already fused with that of the golem.

Myrrh went completely pale. "Now I remembered! It's Drago, the Ultimate Guardian"

"What? More guardians? What is it with you dragons and guardians?" L'Arachel was outraged.

"That is Drago. He is what us, the Manakete, called the Ultimate Guardian. His sole purpose is to guard the tomb of the Great Dragon. This means that the tomb must be nearby!"

Immediately, Ephraim thought about his sister. Did she and Innes have an encounter with Drago as well? If so, what happened to them? 'God, this is no time to be thinking about Eirika. Right now, I have to save Master Saleh and Ewan'.

"Brother, look out!" Myrrh screamed.

Drago began flapping its gigantic wings, each time, creating strong gusts of hot winds. It moved the wings faster and faster now. For something so massive, the golem moved unbelievably fast.

Now, not only did the winds tear violently at them, the force of the wings blew up the hot oil along with the flames, which turned into fireballs the minute they left the pool and rained down mercilessly on Ephraim and his group.

"Shield!" L'Arachel raised her staff and bright blue light surrounded the group. However, this time, the barrier was not strong enough. Some of the fireballs managed to penetrate it.

"Leave those to me and Marisa." The Desert Tiger and his silent partner proceeded to destroy most of the fireballs that went through the shield.

"Myrrh, do you know how I can get Master Saleh and Ewan out?" Ephraim looked inquisitively at Myrrh. "We can't even get close to that accursed monster without being burned by those fireballs. At this rate, we will run out of energy before we can subdue it."

"Ephraim, remember those dragon statues at the entrance of the temple? Remember what we did with them?" Shouted Joshua, both hands cradling the unconscious Natasha.

"Yes! Yes, it just might work!" Ephraim exclaimed excitedly. He then turned around to shout orders at Seth. "Seth, we have to destroy the golem's eyes!" The young king turned to speak to Gerik and Marisa. "Gerik, Marisa, do you two think you can distract the golem while Seth and I climb the pillars? We are going to jump on its head and take out the eyes."

"Sure thing, your Majesty." Gerik winked. Marisa nodded her head. Both quickly moved directly in front of Drago. The golem thrashed about in fury, getting ready to strike the duo with its wings.

Wasting no time, Ephraim and Seth started climbing the fallen pillars, one on each side of the golem.

Once he had reached the top of the pillar, Ephraim gave Seth a hand signal. "3, 2, 1 NOW!"

Ephraim and Seth jumped onto the golem's head. Both men thrust their swords deep into the golem's eyes.

Caught off guard, the golem had no chance to counterattack. Green blood gushed out from both of its eye sockets where Ephraim and Seth had plunged their swords. The two men quickly jumped off golem while it thrashed about, flapping its wings wildly.

"Your Majesty, look there!" Ephraim's gaze followed Seth's finger. Two figures were released from the golem's chest. "Master Saleh, Ewan!" Ephraim took one look at the Silver Knight who immediately understood the silent command. Both men rushed forward. Ephraim caught Ewan just in time before his head hit the ground. Seth, too, managed to catch the sage before the raging golem's wings slammed into him. Both the sage and his student were unconscious but otherwise unharmed.

"Hey, a little help here would be really appreciated…woahhh." Gerik just barely dodged the golem's stone claws that were aimed directly at his head. The Desert Tiger and his partner were having a hard time avoiding barrages of attacks from the golem.

Ephraim and Seth managed somehow to get Saleh and Ewan away from the monster.

"Joshua and Myrrh, can you please look after these two for me?" Ephraim then turned around to speak with the green haired princess. "Princess L'Arachel, I will be counting on your shield to protect them." He looked solemnly at her and she blushed. "O-Of course, who do you think I am? Just go and save those two already!"

When Ephraim and Seth reached Gerik, the Desert Tiger was panting heavily after having avoided another deadly blow to his head. "Damn it, huff..huff the bastard is persistent." Despite the fact that the golem had been blinded in both eyes, it did not fall down like the two dragon statues at the entrance of the temple. Moreover, blindness did not affect its movements, which were still incredibly accurate. If Gerik and Marisa had not been prepared and well trained, they would have perished by now. With apparent difficulty, Gerik slashed yet another fireball in half before it hit him square in the face.

"We've gotta do something, and we'd better make it quick or we're toast!" Gerik managed a weak laugh "Hahaha, get it? Burning flames, toast, you know. Hahaha". His silent partner just rolled her eyes.

Ephraim looked around hoping to find something that would help turn the table in their favors. And just like that, the solution appeared before his eyes.

"I am truly sorry Gerik, but I am afraid that you and Marisa will have to play decoys for a while longer." The Desert Tiger turned around to look incredulously at the young king of Renais.

Ephraim pointed to the base of the Great Dragon statue, where a large pillar had survived the quake intact, while dodging the golem's left wing. "Gerik, Marisa, please distract the golem while Seth and I try to reach that pillar."

"Do not worry, Marisa and I can take care of that, but what are you going to do once you've reached the pillar?"

"You will see." Ephraim gave Gerik a tight smile and abruptly left his side. "Ready, Seth?" The young king started to run towards the pillar.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Silver Knight followed not far behind.

Once the two men reached the pillar, they wasted no time hacking at it with their swords.

On the other side, Gerik and Marisa were busy weaving back and forth trying to avoid fatal blows from the golem.

"Eirika, please lend me your power." Both men spoke almost at the same time. With that as their final thought, the two men closed theirs eyes as they delivered the final blows to the pillar severing it in half.

At first the pillar barely moved. However, it quickly gained momentum and fell down at lightning speed right on top of the golem!

The golem screeched as if in agony before it went crashing down into the pool of flames waiting below.

"We did it!, Marisa, look, we did it! Yah!" Gerik grabbed his partner excitedly and gave her a big hug. Marisa blushed bright red having been caught off guard. She was about to tell Gerik to let go of her when suddenly the golem emerged from the pool, its entire body covered in oil. The golem's claws were directly behind Gerik's head! "Watch out, Chief!" Marisa quickly shoved Gerik out of the way. Gerik landed on his side but turned around just in time to witness the most horrifying scene in his life…

The claws landed right on Marisa's chest and blood splattered everywhere!

"MARISA." Gerik shouted desperately at the now stilled form lying in front of him.

The golem was getting ready for another attack. It lifted its left leg up, meaning to crush Marisa underneath. Gerik ran to her side, but the golem was faster. It knocked Gerik away with one of its stone wings. Gerik flew across the room and landed in front of the Great Dragon Statue, which was partially covered in Marisa's blood.

"GOD, NOOOOO." Gerik could only watch in despair, as the golem was about to land its foot right on top of Marisa.

"FIRE." Bright red light shot out from right behind Gerik. The intensity was so great that Gerik had to momentarily close his eyes. Once he opened them again, he found that the golem was engulfed in flames!

Gerik could not believe his eyes when he turned around to find the source of the flames.

Standing right behind Gerik were L'Arachel and Ewan, both raised their staves high in the air.

'This was no time to be astonished'. Gerik thought before he rushed to Marisa's side. He gently picked her up trying to assess her conditions. She was barely conscious, but breathing nonetheless.

The golem continued to scream in pain, but L'Arachel and Ewan did not stop. They raised their staves once again. Both shouted at the same time. "Into darkness, thou shall return. ELFIRE!". Fires erupted from the pool surrounding the golem, forming into massive cyclones, which came crashing down on the golem, swallowing it in bright red light! Once the light disappeared, there was no sign of the creature.

Both L'Arachel and Ewan collapsed on the ground. "God, I did not think it was going to take this much power to cast that last spell." L'Arachel spoke to Ewan who returned her comment with a weak smile. The golem was finally defeated!

Ephraim and Seth rushed to where Gerik was kneeling down beside Marisa. "How is she Gerik?" Asked Ephraim, worriedly. "I don't know, Your Majesty. The wound is deep. I've finally managed to stop her bleeding, but we've got to close up the wound fast or else…" Gerik could not bring himself to finish the sentence.

At that moment, the Great Dragon statue that was covered in Marisa's blood began to glow. The light drew everyone's attention. The statue moved a couple of feet backward, revealing a secret entrance to a set of stairs that seemed to lead yet to another chamber deep down below.

Everyone could not believe their eyes and went absolutely still. It was Myrrh who broke the silence. "It is the entrance to the Great Dragon's tomb."

The group stared at each other intensely for a few more seconds before Gerik finally spoke, directing his words to both Ephraim and Joshua.

"Your Majesties, you know what to do. Do not worry about us. I will ask Princess L'Arachel to see to Marisa and Natasha's injuries. Ewan will take care of the sage Saleh, since he was not badly hurt. As for myself, I will remain here to protect them should any other monsters decide to attack."

Joshua knew he had to go. Even though it pained him to leave Natasha here, Joshua knew that she was in good hands. He knew he could trust Gerik, L'Arachel, and Ewan to protect her. The king of Jehanna nodded his head. "I trust you Gerik, Princess, and Ewan. Please take care of her for me." Joshua lifted the still unconscious Natasha up and placed her gently next to Saleh. Before he got up, he placed a gentle kiss on Natasha's hand and whispered softly "I will be back. Wait for me."

"Thank you, Gerik, I will never forget this." Ephraim thanked the Desert Tiger from the bottom of his heart before walking away towards the entrance to the Great Dragon's tomb. Like Joshua, Ephraim had wanted to stay, but he, too, knew he could not. He had to save the most important person in his life. He had to save Eirika. "Let us go, Joshua, Seth, Myrrh."

Without a glance back, the group descended the stairs.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21:The Truth Emerged

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 21: The Truth Emerged

Renais Castle,

The intensity of the light coming from the blazing sun directly overhead only worsened the already deteriorating situations at Renais Castle. The sound of metal armors being crushed and collided against one another could be heard clearly from many miles away. The number and the strength of the enemies were just too overwhelming, and it was beginning to create a sense of despair among the Renais soldiers as they started to realize just how futile their efforts were.

The Frelian troops, known for their strength and excellent battle tactics throughout Magvel even without direct commands of their liege, Prince Innes, were already a force to be reckoned with. But now, with the Demon King's minions battling along their side, they had somehow become invincible.

Before long, Renais castle had become a blood soaked battlefield between men and the creatures from the pits of hell.

"Being in this heat sure is no fun". A knight with long blonde hair thought crossly while defending himself against the fangs of a Mauthe Doog. At one time, as he was certain, he had uttered the very same phrase before.

The Mauthe Doog made another attempt and jumped at him, baring long sharp fangs. It aimed for the knight's unprotected head with its Fiery Fang attack. The knight barely had enough time to block the attack with his sword. The monster did not give up. It drove its fangs forcefully against the knight's blade.

The stench from the monster's breath overwhelmed the knight but he held on. When he saw an opening, he moved slightly to his left, and the monster lost its balance. As its head plummeted to the ground, the knight had recovered enough footing. He quickly placed his right foot forward, leaning heavily against it. With his right arm, the knight sliced the monster in half, spilling its rancid purple blood on the ground.

At the moment, the blonde knight was standing atop the roof of the tower of the East Gate. 'How many days has it been now since this war had erupted? Was it since the day of the coronation of their beloved Prince and Princess? Has it been that long already?' The knight looked broodingly at the battlefield.

"Do not tell me you are spacing out again, Forde, and in the middle of a heated battle no less". Spoke a knight with moss colored hair at his friend, who looked as though he was ready to collapse, as he rode up right next to him on a brown stallion. Like his blonde friend, the knight, too, looked haggard. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was wildly unkempt. Despite all this, the knight was still ready to fight. His eyes shone brightly, still active, still alert.

There were blood strains all over the knight's heavy armors. Some of the strains had already hardened and turned into cakes. The knight's handsome face was also covered in a mixture of blood, grimes, and sweat. Even now, he was sweating profusely as the battle raged on with no end in sight. The knight got off his horse and scanned the area. He looked his friend over and sighed.

"Well, I just cannot help it can I? Having to battle these hideous creatures in these conditions. When was the last time we took off our armors, Kyle? I stink so bad that I am certain, by now I must have smelled like that Fetid Claw clawing his way up the wall yonder. Oh, and did I mention that we are, at the moment, outnumbered? We are at a disadvantage here." Forde spoke frustratingly, not at his best friend, but rather at the new horde of monsters, judging to be hundreds by number, that just appeared beyond the wall.

"I'm afraid your scolding is going to have to wait, Kyle." Forde spoke uneasily as he rushed to his men's aid.

Renais castle, despite its age and the fact that the entire castle was overwhelmingly surrounded by hundreds of Frelian soldiers and the dark creatures, the castle still held strong. Kyle had shut the main gate to the castle as soon as King Ephraim and Commander Seth had left, just in time before the enemies arrived. However, that did not deter them as they continued to try to break the main gate down.

With great difficulty, they were somehow able to hold off the Frelian ground troops. However, their aerial units, which consisted of hundreds of ferocious armored Wyverns, were another story.

All the Wyvern riders were carrying sharp spears laced with Wyvern blood, which was known to be extremely poisonous. Just one single scratch and you could almost kiss your precious life good bye. This was so because Wyverns were the descendents of dragons, which were said to be the most powerful creatures. Their blood could easily eat through normal armors and shields.

The only type of armors that could combat the poisonous blood was the armors fused with the blood of a Pegasus. These armors had to go through a special process known only within the trades, which was extremely difficult to perform. The sages of old once said that Pegasus blood was very potent, since the Pegasi were the descendents of the legendary Unicorns. Although the Pegasi lacked the most sought after horn that the unicorns possessed, their blood was still very effective against weapons forged from Wyvern blood.

Interestingly enough, according to many legends and tales of old, unicorns were the only creatures in the world that would not instinctively run away when confronted with a dragon. Consequently, the armors made from Pegasus blood were extremely rare and valuable. Not many kingdoms were blessed with that luxury and Renais was no exception.

In Renais, only the top or the so-called 'elite' commanders and generals were bestowed these wonderful armors. And even then, they were used mainly in ceremonial purposes such as during the ascension of kings and queens.

Fortunately enough for Kyle and Forde, they were wearing such armors when the Frelian troops arrived. However, their fellow knights were not so fortunate. Many corpses lay on the ground, almost unrecognizable, since the poisonous blood had eaten through even their bones.

The enemies advanced slowly towards the castle. Monsters of all sizes continued to climb the outer walls. They were met with sharp arrows and spears that were waiting for them, prepared by the Renais soldiers. Nevertheless, the enemies relentlessly approached the four main gates.

Grimly, Kyle turned around to speak to a young knight commander that was now approaching him from the West Gate.

"What is the situation over at the West Gate, Franz?"

The commander, despite his young age, was very intelligent and efficient in commanding the troops. However, this being his very first battle since attaining the post, he could not help but be a little nervous. Secretly, he wanted so much to meet the expectations of his hero, Commander Seth. He had to be able to live up to that much because, at his age, Seth was already in charge of hundreds of troops and commanded so much respect from his soldiers. He was known throughout Magvel as the military prodigy and was sought after by many kingdoms.

"I cannot honestly say that we are faring any better than here, Commander Kyle. The enemy troops are just too great in number and strength. And on top of that, our soldiers are not well equipped. Their weapons and armors are rendered almost useless against the dark creatures. At this rate, they will surely break through our main defenses." The young commander finished his report with a worried frown on his face.

"Damn those foul creatures. Without them, our main forces could at least stand a chance of crushing the Frelian troops. But with them in the picture, this certainly has tipped the scale in their favor." Kyle spoke frustratingly.

"How is my brother, Commander Kyle?" Franz asked after his brother worriedly. "Knowing him, he would just space out during the battle like always."

"You certainly do know your brother." Kyle gave Franz a brief smile. "Your brother is, there, at the far end of the East Gate." Kyle pointed towards one of the walls to the east where a lone figure with long blonde hair was being surrounded by a new group of Mauthe Doogs.

"This is bad, your brother is surrounded. He has no means to escape or counterattack. We have to go help him." Alarmed, Kyle started running towards the east wall only to be stopped by a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Commander Kyle, please stay here. I will rescue Commander Forde myself. The soldiers here need you." Franz pleaded.

Wanting to help his friend, but unwilling to abandon his duty to his troops, Kyle was having a dilemma. However, the look of determination on Franz's face made up his mind. "Be careful, Franz. Forde might be a good swordsman, but these are Demon King's dark creatures you are fighting against. Be on your guard."

"Yes, sir."

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Meanwhile,

The blonde commander of the Renais Imperial Army was about to be eaten alive by a wild pack of Mauthe Doogs. Never in his life, had he encountered so many at once. His heart was beating much faster than usual, and he was certain that it would eventually explode, had he not done anything to calm it down.

"Nice going, Forde. Of all the ways to be killed…man, and here I thought one of these days I was going to die by some soldier's sword. That's the way an honorable knight should go, you know. Not by a pack of 'dogs' like this." At that moment, two of the monsters jumped at him, and he barely dodged the attack while knocking one of them away with the hilt of his sword. He was beginning to run out of breath.

"Damn, how many more? I guess this is the end for me."

"Not if I can help it." Unexpectedly, Franz jumped in front of his brother. Forde was startled, but he quickly recovered and managed a weak smile in return.

"You must think I'm uncool, having to be saved by my younger brother like this." Forde spoke half jokingly.

"Broth-, I mean Commander, did I not tell you once during our battle with the Demon King, that I looked up to you as my role model, and I still do. There was never a time when I thought you were 'uncool' as you have put it. Please be a little more confident in yourself". Franz finished his sentence with a violent slash of his sword at the monster's jaws when it drove for his head. "Enough with the talk, Commander, we have to concentrate on the battle at hand. Grrh, these creatures sure are persistent, not to mention incredibly strong. No matter how many I've killed, more would just take their place."

Forde chuckled softly while wiping off the blood that escaped from a small gash on his forehead. "And did I not tell you Franz, that if you take the battle too seriously, you are sure to make mis-."

"LOOK OUT, BROTHER!" Shouted Franz when the leader of the pack jumped off the top of the wall and drove its fangs towards Forde's head.

Too late! Forde had no time to evade. The blonde commander stared at the monster charging at him in horror. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain that would follow, but it never came.

Puzzled, Forde slowly opened his eyes. What he saw turned his blood cold.

His younger brother had directly taken the hit in his place! The sharp fangs of the monster pierced right through his left shoulder. Blood was now splattering all over Franz's armors. "AAAAAAH." Franz cried out in agony, which only provoked the monster to drive its fangs even deeper into his shoulder.

After recovering from the initial shock, Forde rushed to his brother's side to help free him from the brutal grip. Forde started hacking at the monster with his sword but to no avail. The monster would not let Franz go. Instead, it began to shake its head from left to right meaning to tear apart Franz's arm from his body. The young commander screamed in pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH." Blood spurt everywhere.

Forde had to do something, and it had to be quick, for at this rate, his brother would surely die from the blood loss. Forde aimed his sword directly at the monster's head, but it was too smart. It had anticipated Forde's movement and evaded the attack before he could land a proper blow. Urgently now, Forde tried the second time; however, before he could do anything, the other monsters jumped in front of him blocking him from attacking their leader.

'What am I going to do now?' Forde was getting desperate. His brother had stopped screaming. 'Does that mean that he has already lost his consciousness or is it because…' Forde was too afraid to finish the sentence.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Shouted Forde angrily. However, the monsters were unaffected. They kept getting in his way. Forde could not get past them to reach their leader.

Forde could only look on in horror as the leader suddenly released his unconscious brother mercilessly onto the ground. This time it aimed its fangs directly at Franz's head!

The monster unhinged its jaws preparing for its final attack. "NOOOOOOOOOO". Forde yelled at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly a sound of something flying cut through the stilled air and drew the attention of the other monsters. "Whooooosh".

Something was now moving in front of Forde, and he glanced down. The leader's head was on the ground, twitching from side to side, its eyes focused directly at Forde! Its headless body, too, was moving, but only for a short while before finally collapsing to the ground. Purple blood gushed out, covering the entire area with a foul stench.

The monster's head continued to twitch when three figures appeared from behind the thick bushes.

"Dad, that was awesome! Your aim was dead on. That monster didn't even know what hit him." Came a cheerful voice from one of the figures, a blue-haired boy of about fourteen, carrying a large axe.

Appearing next to the boy was a man in his late thirties. The two appeared to be father and son as the older man was wearing a similar outfit to that of the boy. The look of admiration in the boy's eyes was apparent.

The man calmly assessed his now headless target before picking up his large axe, the weapon that severed the beast's head, from the ground.

With their leader gone, the rest of the monsters dispersed in different directions, leaving Forde stunned.

The third figure came out from behind the man. It was a young girl. She was petite and blonde, wearing a red armor. She immediately rushed to the unconscious Franz. She picked his head up gently, placing it on her lap, the look of concern displayed on her lovely face. She clasped his cold hands tightly in her warm ones, hoping to transfer some of her own warmth to him. He looked peaceful, sleeping like this, but she knew it was anything but. The smell of his blood still hung heavily in the air.

"That was close, Forde. These monsters sure are vicious." The man spoke calmly as if, to him, this was an everyday occurrence.

"Garcia, Ross, and…Amelia!" Forde stared in disbelief. It had been a long time since he last saw them. And what a moment for them to choose to make their appearance. How did they get here? And When?

The questions were on the tip of Forde's tongue, but before he could ask them, Garcia put up his hand. "Sorry Forde, but I am afraid that the explanation will have to wait for later. Right now, we have to tend to your brother immediately."

"You are right." Forde finally overcame his initial shock and was now heading towards his still unconscious brother.

"Franz has lost a lot of blood. We have to get him to a healer immediately. Ross, go help Amelia and take Franz to the inner castle." Garcia turned around to look at Forde. "Forde, do you have anyone? A monk or a mage who can heal?"

"Yes. You remember Artur and Lute, right? They are here. As a matter of fact, I believe they are tending to the wounded as we speak."

Wasting no time, Ross, with Amelia still supporting Franz's head, lifted him up. The young commander's face was pale and his breathing had become shallow. Ross carefully carried the young commander on his back towards the inner castle, Amelia trailing worriedly not far behind.

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Ancient stairway leading to the Great Dragon's tomb,

As they were getting closer to the Great Dragon's tomb, the young king of Renais could feel every muscle and nerve of his body tense in anticipation for the upcoming final confrontation between him and Prince Innes, a man he once thought was his friend and ally.

The young king tightened his fists. It was true, despite their so called 'rivalry', which, in his opinion, was entirely one-sided on Prince Innes' part, he never regarded the future king of Frelia as anything but a good and reliable man, whom, at one point, he had entrusted with the task of protecting his sister.

Ephraim unclenched his fists slowly, red marks visible in his palms, his initial anger suddenly replaced by that of sadness. Not once but twice now that he would have to fight a friend. Not a minute went by that Ephraim did not think about Lyon and what he and Eirika had done in order to save Magvel on that fateful day. Ephraim remembered it well, the pain and agony that both of them had to go through. He did not wish to repeat it again, and yet here he was, alongside his companions, preparing to do whatever it would take to get Eirika back even if it meant that Innes' life had to be sacrificed.

With that thought in mind, Ephraim's steps faltered slightly. He had to know. No, he as well as his companions wanted to know Prince Innes' true intention for committing this unforgivable crime. Why had he turned against all his allies and friends? What could have prompted or driven Prince Innes to do such thing? For what, power? Wealth? But he already possessed both. Or was it something else entirely?

Ephraim knew, of course, that it did not matter at all whether or not he wanted to fight the prince. It was fate. Ephraim chuckled ironically. 'What else would you call it?' Ephraim never really believed in such thing before. He often chided his sister for using that word back when they were kids. However, now that he was here, in this temple, about to have a battle with his friend once again, suddenly, the word 'fate' did not sound so bad after all. At least, he could use that as an excuse to fight. At least, at the end, he could say 'it was not by choice. It was pre-destined. It was fated to happen'.

However, Ephraim knew better. He shook his head slightly as if he was trying to get rid of a personal demon on his shoulder. 'Right now there was no time to be indecisive!'

Ephraim turned around to look at his companions once more and saw the same look of determination in their eyes. That was it then. Everyone had decided to fight. Everyone had decided to move forward, to end all this. The moment of truth drew near. There was no going back now…

Despite Ephraim's calm demeanor, Seth knew better that he was anything but. The way Ephraim clenched and unclenched his fists again and again reminded Seth of a volcano, ready to erupt. Like Ephraim, Seth, too, could feel the tension in his body, building. One minute he was sweating profusely, the next minute he was shivering uncontrollably.

'Could it be due to the strange atmosphere surrounding the temple?' Seth wondered. He glanced back at Joshua and Myrrh who were walking quietly behind. Both of them seemed to be in deep thoughts. In Joshua's case, he was probably trying to come up with an effective strategy to take down Prince Innes and rescue Eirika, that or he was thinking about someone he had left behind.

'Eirika, please wait just a little bit longer. I am coming to save you.' Seth remembered the promise he gave to Eirika thirteen years ago when fate had led him to become her personal guard: "_Princess, from this moment forth, I shall become your shield and your sword. No harm shall come to you, for I will be your protector, now and forever_."

"I will keep that promise." Seth spoke determinedly as he urged his feet to move faster forward down the stairs.

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Meanwhile, inside the Great Dragon's tomb

Innes placed his sword on Tana's neck and exerted just enough force to cause a small, but deep cut along her neck. The sudden contact of the cold blade against her bare skin caused her to stop screaming momentarily. As Innes continued to press the sharp blade against her neck, Tana howled in agony until Innes finally and slowly removed the blade. Thick red liquid was now trickling down the length of his sword. "Shut up, you useless fool." Innes glared at the helpless Tana who was now writhing on the ground, both hands clutching at her neck.

However, as soon as Tana took one look at Innes, her initial look of pain was replaced by that of fear once more. She immediately went back to screaming. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Innes had lost the last shred of his patience. He lashed out at Tana violently with his sword. He cut her all over her tiny body, again and again until her robe became tattered and painted crimson with her own blood. Still, she continued to scream.

Eirika looked on in horror. "Prince Innes, stop, STOP IT. STOP IT, PLEASE!" Eirika shouted at the top of her lungs but to no avail as Innes continued to blatantly ignore her plea.

Innes took his foot to Tana's stomach and delivered a kick repeatedly until Tana finally went absolutely still. Content with the result, Innes smiled sadistically. "I told you to shut up, didn't I?" Innes licked the blood off of his blade and spat it on the ground. He turned deliberately around to face Eirika. "I should have used your blood to activate that cursed door instead of hers. Tch, if only it did not have to be the blood of a maiden."

Eirika could not believe her eyes. That was his own sister he was hurting! Granted Innes had never been gentle with his sister the way Ephraim was with her, but there was never a time when Innes was cruel or violent towards Tana. He would always scold his sister, but Eirika knew that it was always done with reasons. It was done out of his concern for her well-being. What he did just now was plain vicious.

"Why, Prince Innes? Why? Is she not your sister? Is she not of the same blood as you? How could you do this to her?" Eirika could not prevent the tears that were now flowing freely from her face.

"Sister?" Innes sneered. "Sister, you said. Hahahahaha." Innes laughed nastily. "I do not have a sister, and certainly not that pathetic excuse of a girl."

Innes stalked menacingly towards Eirika, his body still covered in her friend's blood, the smell of which hung heavily in the air. Eirika tried to back away, but her body would not move. She immediately realized that it had been immobilized due to a spell. 'I must not look into his eyes.' Eirika thought to herself, and yet, she could not help but stare at them. "Now, shall we begin the ritual, my love?" With the bloodied hands, Innes grabbed Eirika by the waist and lifted her off the ground. Eirika continued to stare helplessly at Innes' eyes, which were glowing an ugly shade of red.

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The bottom of the stairway,

The seemingly endless stairs finally ended at what appeared to be a giant boulder, which was blocking the entrance to the Great Dragon's tomb.

Ephraim placed both his hands on the boulder and gave it a strong push, but it did not budge. 'Thought so.' Then his hands touched something on the smooth surface of the stone. He traced his fingers along the surface and discovered that it was an indentation, a pattern of some sort.

"Seth, could you please hand me the torch."

On closer inspection, Ephraim noticed, the indentation turned out to be some sort of ancient letterings etched onto the surface. After staring at them for a few seconds, Ephraim decided that it was impossible for him to decipher. The letterings belong to that of the ancient language, the subject he never excelled at. He turned around to look for help. He found Joshua, standing not far behind him.

"Oh no you don't. Ephraim, you knew better than to ask me for help." Joshua chuckled and shook his head disapprovingly. Why don't we ask Myrrh? Where is she by the way? Oh, there she is." Joshua pointed to a small figure hovering to his far right.

Ephraim noticed that Myrrh was inspecting the intricate murals on the stone wall. At present, Myrrh was too immersed in the paintings to notice that they have reached the bottom of the stairway. He walked over to her and tapped her shoulder gently. "Myrrh, what are you looking at?"

Startled, Myrrh momentarily averted her gaze from the murals. "O-Oh, Brother. I was looking at the paintings of the history of the Manakete Clan. See here, this depicts the birth of the Great Dragon, the leader of our clan. And here, this large dark circle represents the birth of the Demon King, Fomortiis." Myrrh explained. "Oh, if only we had time to study them" Myrrh spoke wistfully.

"I know what you mean." Ephraim patted the little girl's head affectionately.

Suddenly a piercing scream could be heard from behind the boulder. Both Seth and Ephraim recognized immediately the owner of that voice! Eirika!

All four of them quickly rushed to the stone. Ephraim's heart was beating wildly. 'What happened? Did Innes hurt her?' Ephraim could no longer contain his fear for his sister's life. "Move, damn it!" He gave the boulder another shove. Still it did not move.

Another scream escaped from behind the giant rock. "Eirika." Now it was Seth's turn to shout. He pushed the stone with all his strength, but as if the stone had a mind of its own, it would not budge.

Then, as if something had struck her, Myrrh grabbed Joshua's shoulders. "Your Majesty, your hands!" Myrrh spoke excitedly while pointing at Joshua's hands. Joshua looked at her, puzzled. "What are you talk-". Then, it hit him.

"Ephraim, Seth, move away from there." Joshua pushed the men away gently. He now placed both of his hands on the writings on the stone. A loud rumbling was heard followed by the sound of the heavy boulder moving slowly.

Ephraim and Seth looked on in surprise. "How?" Joshua turned and held his hands up in front of them. "Do you see what is on my hands?" Both Ephraim and Seth replied at the same time. "Blood."

"Right, blood. Precisely, Natasha's blood, a maiden's blood. This is what we need in order to activate the stone."

The boulder finally moved back revealing a large chamber behind it. Ephraim, Seth, Joshua, and Myrrh rushed in.

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"Hahahaha, did it hurt, Princess? Please do struggle more. I want to see more blood. That's it. Oh, please do not cry." Innes made a dramatic gesture with his hands. "You are breaking my heart. Hahahahahah" Innes' laughter echoed eerily inside the chamber.

Ephraim could not believe the sight that greeted him and his companions as they set foot inside the chamber. Floating slightly above the altar in the middle of the chamber was his sister, Eirika. Her arms and legs appeared to have been bound tightly by invisible ropes, which she continued to struggle against. With every effort Eirika made to escape from the restraint, the ropes cut deeper into her smooth skin, and she began to bleed, blood staining her white gown. Innes continued to laugh madly. He took immense pleasure in knowing that her struggle was futile. "More, more MORE, hahahahaha."

Thankfully, Eirika's mouth was not gagged. When she saw Ephraim, she tried to shout out his name. However, as if all her energy had been drained, the sound that came out was barely above a whisper. "Ephraim…". The look in her eyes was a mix of relief and fear. She was relieved that her brother had come to her rescue, but now she feared that his life and the lives of his companions were in grave danger.

Then, Eirika spotted Seth, and she could no longer contain the tears that she had been holding in, and they began to roll down her face. "Oh, Seth…" She took one long look at the Silver Knight's handsome face. "You kept your promise." She whispered softly to herself, the dream she had earlier, still vivid in her memory.

"Innes, what have you done to my sister?" Ephraim demanded angrily, his eyes focusing on the mad prince who was standing directly in front of his sister, a dagger in his hand, the blue stone at the center began to flash.

Feigning surprise, the prince made another dramatic gesture with his hands. He turned around to face the young king and his companions. "Oh, I see we have uninvited guests." Innes slowly surveyed his 'guests' and made a face as if delighted. "Eirika, my love, you should be very pleased to know that your brother is here personally to give our holy union his blessing." Innes spoke coldly placing his free hand on Eirika's delicate neck and applied small pressure, enough to force a whimper from her throat.

If only he could, Ephraim would have loved to kill Innes right then and there. "Don't you DARE touch her, Innes." Ephraim spoke with a deadly calm that warned Innes he was not playing. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

Seth's thought echoed that of Ephraim. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his knuckles turning white. 'If Innes were to hurt her…'

"Oh, but you are wrong, Your Majesty." Innes shook his head. He deliberately spoke with the tone that he knew would get Ephraim's blood boiling. "Your dear sister does have EVERYTHING to do with my plan." Innes slowly ran his fingers over Eirika's neck.

Seth unsheathed his sword.

"What do you want from her, Innes?" It was Joshua's turn to speak. "The dagger is already in your possession. She is no longer needed. Let her go."

"YOU FOOLS." Innes snarled, the abrupt change in his facial expression was startling. "WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?" His grip on Eirika's neck became tighter and she started choking. Ephraim and Joshua both unsheathed their swords at the same time.

"INNES." Ephraim shouted angrily.

Once again, Innes laughed. "Hahahaha, did you really believe I kidnapped the princess without knowing anything?" Innes looked the king of Jehanna straight in the eyes.

Joshua did not avert his gaze; instead, he returned it with equal animosity. He noticed uneasily that Innes' eyes were glowing red. "Then, tell me this, 'Prince Innes'. Who exactly are you?"

Ephraim, Seth, and Myrrh looked at Joshua as if he had lost all his senses.

Upon hearing this, Innes burst out laughing. "Ah hahahahahahaha." This went on for quite some time before he finally calmed down enough to reply. "Sharp as ever, king of the desert land." Joshua's companions continued to stare at him, still lost.

"So, what was it that gave me away if I may inquire?"

Joshua smiled grimly before he replied. "Frankly, if I hadn't been paying close attention to you these past couple of weeks with the help of my spy, I do not think that I ever would have been able to tell."

Joshua turned around to address his companions. "As all of you have witnessed, the changes in Prince Innes' demeanor were quite startling. However, logic dictates that one does not simply just alter one's personality overnight or within a short period of time. Therefore…"

"Therefore, you came up with the conclusion that I must not be Prince Innes. Is that right?"

"Precisely, or am I wrong, servant of the abominable Demon Lord, Riev?"

"Riev!" Stunned, both Ephraim and Seth spoke at the same time.

The man that was now standing in front of them made a swift motion with his hands, and his body floated upward.

Joshua continued calmly. "Prince Innes is not a mage, nor was he ever given a proper lesson in the art of magic. He would not even be able to tell the difference between a Torch spell from a Fireball spell. For him to be able to use that kind of spell back at Renais Castle, it was just not possible. On top of that, who else would have the power to command Demon King's dark creatures if not his servant. Besides, I have fought against you once before, or did you forget? I would have recognized those cursed red eyes anywhere."

Finally, it dawned on Ephraim and he added. "And lately, you have been addressing my sister as 'Princess Eirika'. Innes never used her title. He always called her by her name." Now everything made sense.

"But Your Majesty, how could this person in front of us be Riev? With the help of Princess Eirika, I was the one who took his life during our battle here in Darkling Woods. I witnessed his death with my own eyes. Or was that just an illusion?" Seth spoke with uncertainty in his voice.

"Well well, why don't I tell you everything from the beginning then." Riev spoke, his eyes still glowing red.

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Flashback: Two months ago.

Frelia Castle, Innes' bedchamber,

After he had let out some of his anger, Innes did feel better. He finally unclenched his fists and started to relax. Now that he had calmed down somewhat, he found himself being annoyed by the fallen figurines lying on the floor.

Innes knew, of course, that Tana was just worried about him. After all, there was some truth in what she said. Lately, Innes had been very occupied with the many duties that he had to perform in his father's absence. Ever since he became sick, his father had withdrawn entirely from everything and everyone. He had abandoned all his duties and responsibilities. Innes shook his head wearily. 'And even his own family'.

Speaking of his father, when was he going to get better? Why was there no doctor that could cure him? What exactly was the nature of his illness? Innes wondered gloomily as he started to pick up the figurines on the floor. However, before he could do anything, a single voice broke the silence that had filled the room.

"I can help you, Prince Innes." Came a deep voice from somewhere in the chamber.

Startled, Innes quickly turned around to scan the room looking for the source of that eerie voice. "Who's there?" He continued to look around; still, he saw no one. Was that just his own active imagination playing tricks on him? 'Well, it had been a long day for me'. Innes thought wryly.

"Prince Innes of Frelia, I can help you obtain what you most desire." Again, the deep voice continued eerily.

This time; however, his initial surprise was overcome by anger and Innes shouted angrily. "WHO ARE YOU? COWARD, SHOW YOURSELF!"

A nasty cackle was heard coming from the direction of the full-length mirror next to his bed.

"Do not be so cross, My Prince, for I will show myself to you." Innes slowly inched towards the source of the voice. Before long, he was standing in front of the mirror, and staring back at him was an ugly face, of which he recognized immediately.

"Riev!" Innes instinctively unsheathed his sword. "How? You were supposed to be dead". He pointed the tip of his sharp blade at the demonic apparition in the mirror.

The voice answered calmly. "Yes, indeed, I was 'supposed to be' dead." The voice gave a fit of hideous laughter. "In fact, I did die, but only physically."

"Just what do you mean, Demon? Speak up, and give me one good reason why I shouldn't destroy you right here and now".

"Hahahahahahahaha. Destroy me? How? I am nothing but an apparition. Do you intend to cut me down with that sword of yours? Hahahahahahah. FOOL."

Innes was taken aback momentarily by the eyes in the mirror that started glowing red. "Now, why don't you hear me out, My Prince, since I know of a way for you to obtain the thing you desire most, Princess Eirika's love".

Innes stared disbelievingly at the mirror. 'How did the demon know so much? How could it have known what his deepest desire was?'

"I see I got your attention." The apparition's glowing red eyes darted back and forth between Innes' face and the sword in his hand.

"Allow me then, to tell you a little story of how I came to reside in this old mirror." Innes stared silently into the mirror. The apparition took it as a good sign and continued. "It all started after I was killed in Darkling Woods by the man that you despise. The bastard killed me without hesitation, without mercy. And as I lay dying, I used my last breath to separate the soul from my body, the technique in which can only be performed by someone with advanced knowledge in the dark art."

Innes scoffed. "Someone like you, you mean."

The apparition ignored the prince's comment and continued on. "However, the soul without its physical shell was useless. If I were to remain in that state, eventually, my soul would disappear. But, luckily during my search for a usable body, I came across a man that was on the verge of death. In his weakened state, it was not, at all, difficult for me to destroy his soul and steal his body." Red eyes were now focused intensely on Innes' face; an evil smiled curved the apparition's hideous lips.

"Would you care to venture a guess as to whose body it was that I stole?" The apparition laughed again, and suddenly, the room got very cold.

The realization of what the apparition had done hit Innes hard. His eyes opened wide, and he grinded his teeth before he spoke. "You…killed…my father?" Innes looked maddeningly at the apparition, every ounce of his energy was used to keep his anger in check.

"No, I did not kill him. Your father was already suffering from a fatal disease. He would have eventually died anyway. All I did was to help him pass on to a better life a bit earlier than expected." The apparition paused briefly. "And since his body that I have obtained is too weak right now, I could only appear to you in this form."

Innes could no longer hear anything. No, he refused to hear anything. He did not care anymore what the apparition was saying. All he could think of at this point was the fact that his father was gone, and he did not even do anything to help. He felt so wretched having let his father down.

With one swift motion, Innes' hand that held the sword moved upward. He drove the hilt of the heavy sword straight to the center of the mirror.

Upon the violent impact, the apparition screamed. "NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?" However, the mirror was tougher than expected. The blow only succeeded in cracking the surface, but the mirror did not shatter. Innes raised his hand up again.

"If you destroyed this mirror, you will have destroyed the only chance for you to make Princess Eirika yours." The apparition was shouting desperately now.

This seemed to have worked, for Innes abruptly stopped, his hand only mere inches away from the mirror surface.

"Yes, that's right. Though you could not save your father, you could still save the woman you love from that man. If you listen to me and do what I say, Princess Eirika will be saved. She will be forever yours, yours and yours alone." Innes looked up with a blank expression on his face and met with the glowing red eyes. The prince stared at them.

"If you want to know, come closer." The apparition begged invitingly.

As if he had lost the control of his own body, Innes' arms and legs began to move on their own.

"There, now, place your hands on the mirror. Slowly, closer, closer."

Innes put his hands out in front of him. Before they touched the smooth surface of the mirror, his hands faltered just a little. The apparition continued to urge him on. "You DO want to save her, don't you? Once she is yours, she will never look at anyone else ever again." With that final sentence spoken, Innes' consciousness began to fade.

End flashback

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"Cursed demon, you used the darkness that resided in the prince's heart to control him and took over his body."

"Exactly".

"And with the prince's body, you began to set your plan in motion." Spoke Joshua.

"That is correct." As if he found the whole situation amusing, Riev started to laugh once again. "To think that no one, not even that idiot sister of his, even suspected that I was not the prince, hahahaha"

"Bastard, what did you do to King Hayden? And what happened to Tana?" Ephraim pointed his sword at the demon in front of him.

"Hahahaha, I do forget how young and naïve you are, oh king of Renais. I suppose between the two of you, your sister is the intelligent one, hahahahaha".

"Answer me, demon, what did you do to them?" Ephraim repeated his question angrily.

"Very well, I shall amuse you a while longer. What I did with Hayden's body you asked? Well, since I no longer needed it, I just let the corpse rot in the chamber. With the specific order that I gave everyone at the castle before I left, no one would dare go into that room. As for that pitiful girl, why, there she is, right in front of you." Riev pointed to the figure covered in a tattered blue robe, lying unconsciously in a pool of blood.

"TANA". Ephraim and Myrrh immediately rushed to Tana's side. Ephraim gently picked her head up. 'Thank God, she was still breathing'. "How dare you hurt her. Tana, Tana, can you hear me?" Tana did not stir, she continued to bleed from the cuts she had received earlier.

"Allow me, Brother." Myrrh placed the poor princess's head carefully on her lap and began chanting. "I am not a healer, but this should at least help stop her bleeding."

"Riev." The king of Jehanna was still waiting for the answer to the question he had asked earlier. "What are you going to do with Eirika? You still have not answered me."

"Well, why don't you see for yourself." The demon raised his right arm up in the air and began chanting in a strange tongue.

"Oh no." Myrrh went ghastly pale. Ephraim and the others stopped breathing at the realization of what Innes intended to do.

The dagger, once left the demon's hand, flew high up and stopped momentarily in midair, its sharp blade pointing directly over Eirika's heart!

Eirika stared helplessly, as if mesmerized, at the bright blue light emitted by the stone. Innes turned deliberately around to face Ephraim and his companions. He smiled. Then, before anyone could react, he waved his hand downward. "WHOOOOOOOOSH".

The sound of the blade cutting through the air pierced through their ears as it descended rapidly towards Eirika.

"NO" Seth rushed to the princess's side, but before he could reach her, he was violently thrown back by an invisible wall, a barrier that Innes had cast over her. Seth flew across the room and landed with a loud thud on the ground. "Arrrrgh."

Ephraim and Joshua also rushed towards Eirika, but it was too late. The dagger had found its target! It pierced straight through the princess's heart. The impact was accompanied by a single shriek.

TBC


	22. Chapter 22:Chaos Ensued

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Note: I apologize for taking my time before finally posting this chapter. Just so you guys know I blame the delay of this chapter solely on Bungie Studios for making that darn game…

I know I did say that this was supposed to be the last chapter, but once again I failed to wrap things up (must be a curse or something). Also, this chapter is kind of short. Sorry guys. Anyway, let me know what you guys think about it. Thanks.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 22: Chaos Ensued

It was now several hours past noon. It started to rain heavily not more than an hour ago. The temperature began to cool down somewhat, but even that could not stop the barrage of complaints coming from the tall blonde knight standing by his brother's bedside. The knight appeared to be quite relaxed now that the ordeal of what had taken place earlier was finally over.

Knowing that he only had a couple of minutes left before he had to, yet again, head back out to the battlefield, the knight quickly glanced down at himself, surveying the damages incurred by his body and armors under the light coming from the fireplace. The knight grimly noticed that there were blood stains, now hardened into cakes, all over his heavy breastplate. The knight sighed. He was fully aware that none of them belonged to him.

Once again, the knight stared at the peaceful sleeping face of his younger brother, the one that had saved his life earlier from a certain doom. The look of relief crossed briefly over his face. Thanks to the help of his friends, Lute and Artur, his brother was miraculously saved. Had he brought his brother in several minutes later, it would have been too late. Now all he had to do was to wait for his younger brother to regain consciousness. The blonde knight picked up a wash cloth from a nearby chair, but quickly gave up the idea of cleaning up his armors.

The knight noticed that a young blonde woman in read armors was sitting worriedly by his brother's bedside. He had been telling her to get some rest as the battle still raged on outside, and that soon after, she and her companions would be needed once again at the battlefield. However, the young woman refused to leave. She continued to clutch his brother's pale hands in her own delicate ones. The young woman brought them close to her chest and bent down her head just enough to brush her lips against them. She whispered softly as if she was afraid that anyone would hear her. "Franz, please come back to me, open your eyes…please."

The knight smiled. He wanted to tell the young woman not to worry too much, and that his brother's life was no longer in danger. He should recover soon enough as a result of Artur and Lute's combined administrations of their healing spells and elixirs. However, he decided against it and moved away, allowing her to be alone with his still unconscious brother.

Like a floodgate that had been left open, as soon as she was alone, tears began to roll down the young woman's sad but lovely face uncontrollably. She continued to whisper softly to the young man in front of her. "Do you not remember our promise, Franz? You said yourself that you would protect me, and in turn, I shall protect you." The young woman shut her eyes tightly, remembering the words that were exchanged not too long ago.

"_Amelia, I'll protect you."_

"_Franz…thank you…I'm really happy, but I want to protect you too. I am a soldier of sorts as well, you know. So…let me be your shield to protect you…"_

"_And I will be your sword and fight for you. From now on, you're not alone anymore, Amelia._"

Amelia wiped her eyes, but more tears kept pouring out. "Franz, we both have not yet fulfilled that promise, so no matter what, you have to come back to me…you just have to…" The last sentence was trailed off as she reached out her hand to brush the hair that had fallen, away from Franz's forehead.

The blonde knight smiled once again at the young woman's show of affection towards his brother, but his expression changed immediately as he turned back to address the two men sitting in front of him at an old wooden table that had seen better days.

"Garcia and Ross, I want to thank you both properly. Had you not come to our rescue…" The knight shuddered slightly, unable to finish the sentence. "My brother and I owe you our lives."

"Do not mention it, Forde. You and your brother had helped us plenty when we were fighting the Demon King and his minions together." The older man spoke calmly, a smile displayed on his rugged but kind face.

"Yeah, General Forde, exactly what Dad said." The younger man flashed a brilliant smile before looking at his father, beaming with pride.

Forde returned the smile. He handed both men each a glass of water. "Thank you, you two. Just call me Forde like old times, Ross. There's no need to be so formal with me. By the way, I have been meaning to ask how you three ended up traveling together, and how in the world, did you all end up at Renais Castle? I have to admit, that was incredibly good timing you had there."

Garcia looked at his son and the younger man replied in his father's place. "Well, my father and I had planned to visit King Ephraim and Queen Eirika on their coronation day to congratulate them, of course. However, before we could set off on our journey, our village was under heavy attacks by a large horde of monsters." Ross grimaced when he remembered what had taken place several days ago.

His father continued when Ross went quiet. "Ross and I immediately rushed to the villagers' aid and we did all we could to protect them and drive the monsters away. But at the same time we knew that something was amiss. The number of the monsters was too great, and on top of that.." Garcia paused briefly. "The horde was led by Frelian troops!" He finished the sentence with a loud bang on the wooden table, sending their glasses flying, spilling water all over.

Ross picked up the glasses. "That was when Dad and I realized that the King and Queen must be in danger! The two of us were not able to keep the monsters away for long, so we had women and children evacuate the village while we and the village men fought to hold off the monsters and the Frelian soldiers. After making certain that the villagers were safe, we immediately set off for Renais Castle, and during our travel, we came across Amelia, who has left Grado and was on her way to visit General Franz."

"Again, what incredible timing you guys had." Forde took a big gulp of water from his own glass. "I am afraid that the situation at Renais is as you feared. We are under heavy attacks by the monsters and both Frelian ground and aerial troops. We are, at the moment, outnumbered and-"

Forde's sentence was cut short by a loud shout coming from outside. Forde recognized the voice right away to be that of his friend, Kyle.

Immediately, Forde, Garcia, and Ross rushed out of the room.

Seeing this, Amelia quickly got up out of her chair to follow suit, but she was halted in the process by a strong grip on her wrist.

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Outside,

What the three men saw together turned their blood cold.

Towering above the East Gate Tower where his friend, Kyle, and Renais soldiers were standing, was the largest Wyvern Forde had ever set his eyes on. The Wyvern was three, no, ten times the size of the other Wyverns he had encountered in the past.

Steams were seen coming out from its large mouth and jagged purple skin, and some kind of murky but dangerous-looking liquid was oozing out from its pores. Its spiked tail was also moving in unison with its enormous pair of wings, which were now moving violently back and forth creating strong gusts of wind.

The Wyvern was staring, with its cold, intense gaze, at the helpless soldiers underneath its feet. Its amber-red eyes darted back and forth as it tried to decide what to do with the humans that were standing, transfixed in fear, at its presence.

Then, as if a spell was finally broken, the soldiers that had been standing still began to panic and started shouting frantically. Chaos ensued as they scrambled to get as far away from the gigantic beast as possible.

"Soldiers, what are you all doing? Don't panic. Do you hear me? Stop running!" Yelled Kyle, not entirely certain that his command would be heard.

Sure enough, no one was listening. The soldiers continued pushing and colliding against one another as each man tried to save his own life despite their commander's order to hold their grounds.

Seeing the commotion, the Wyvern opened its large mouth and roared. The horrendous sound was so deafening that it pierced through the thick helmets that the soldiers were wearing, forcing them to cower on the ground.

Forde, Garcia, and Ross covered their ears as best they could, but it only succeeded in lessening the effect somewhat. Their ears still ached, and their head rang as if it had been repeatedly hit by a sledge hammer.

Finally overcoming the pain, the trio moved quickly towards the East Gate Tower to help their comrades.

Garcia spoke first, his voice, a combination of awe and fear rolled into one. "That is the Wyvern Lord."

Ross looked taken aback. He had never heard his father speak with such emotion before. He stared at his father as if he had gone crazy. "Dad, you cannot possibly mean THE Wyvern Lord from legends of old, the one that you told me about so many times when I was just a little kid!"

"The one and the same, Son. There's no mistaking it. I have seen its drawings countless times on the walls of many ancient castles during my travels when I was but a youth. The Wyvern Lord was one of the legendary creatures of old, but I never imagine…" Garcia replied, unable to avert his gaze from the fearsome creature. He could not help but be fascinated by its fierce yet graceful movement.

"The creature must have been brought back to life with the dark magic or whatever means that brought back the Demon King's minions." Forde clenched his fists in frustration. 'One bad dream after another. Will it ever end?'

"Kyle, we're coming." Shouted Forde. The three men urged their feet to move faster, now that the Wyvern Lord had stopped moving its enormous wings. It was getting ready to launch an attack! "What the-"

Without any warnings, the Wyvern Lord opened its mouth wide. This time; however, instead of a roar, a fireball could be seen growing inside its mouth. It was getting bigger and bigger by the minute! The ball began to glow bright red…

Kyle ran to meet up with the group. He commanded the trio firmly. "GET READY!"

Forde's eyes opened wide. 'Get ready? But there was no time to prepare for anything!'

The Wyvern Lord reared its head back and a large bright red fireball came unbelievably fast towards them.

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Meanwhile,

The Great Dragon's Tomb

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Now, it really IS too late, you worthless FOOLS. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA." The demon in disguise of a prince continued to laugh menacingly, its heinous red eyes glowing. The cold and evil laughs sent echoes throughout the chamber, and it began to rumble loudly, sending loose rocks flying.

Ephraim and his companions continued to stare in shock at the princess, as her stilled body hovered in midair.

Great amount of red, thick blood was now escaping the wound where the dagger had pierced straight through her heart. The princess only had a brief moment to utter a single agonizing scream before her entire body went limp.

The aqua blue stone set in the middle of the dagger was now slowly changing its color to dark crimson. It began to give off an eerie red pulsating light. It was absorbing the princess's blood!

"EIRIKA!!!" At the realization of what was happening, Ephraim made another attempt to reach his sister. However, the demon had anticipated the young king's movement. He made a swift motion with his right hand, and the princess was lifted higher in the air out of the young king's reach.

The demon looked on amusingly, enjoying the look of utter horror and desperation on Ephraim's face as he tried in vain to reach his sister, who continued to soar higher and higher still.

"HAHAHA, try all you want, O' Foolish King of Renais, for you will never have her back. The princess will become my queen. MINE. But of course, only if she does not die from that magnificent stab wound first, AHAHAHAHAHA."

"I will slay you, Demon, even if it means I will have to sacrifice my life in the process. I WILL save the princess. I have made a promise, and as a knight, I intend to keep it!" Seth finally managed to get up, one hand clutching at his side, which was now soaked red with blood.

"How, pray tell, Silver Knight, do you intend to kill me? In that pitiful state that you're in, I don't think you can even lift a hand, let alone hold a sword, hahaha."

Once again, the demon made a swift motion with his hand. "Here, have a taste of this. Maybe this will shut you all up. FOREVER!" Large chunks of loose rocks were sent flying viciously towards Ephraim and his companions.

Caught off guard, Joshua and Myrrh had no chance to avoid the rocks. Seeing this, Ephraim rushed in front of them. He raised his sword up, meaning to do the impossible of striking all the rocks that came flying their way.

Ephraim managed to destroy most of the rocks; nevertheless, one large rock escaped his sword and hit him forcefully in the chest, sending him flying backward. Ephraim landed on the ground with a loud thud. "Urgggh."

Ephraim tried to get up, but as soon as he did so, he began coughing out blood! The front of his armor was now covered in the dark red liquid. "Ephraim, hang in there." Joshua spoke while rushing to the injured king. He put one arm around Ephraim as he made an attempt to get back up.

"Your Majesty!" Despite his own injuries, Seth also rushed to his king's side.

"Have you finally realized just how futile your efforts are? No matter what you fools try to do, you will never be able to stop me. It is too late, HAHAHAHAHAHA, MUCH TOO LATE." The demon was thoroughly enjoying the scene in front of him. "More, struggle more, HAHAHAHAHA."

The demon lifted his hand yet again, and this time, a giant boulder came flying towards them. "No more playing. NOW DIE."

"Shield!"

Myrrh summoned up what was left of her power to cast a barrier to protect her companions, but alas, it was no match for the vicious attack!

The boulder hit the weak barrier forcefully with a loud 'BOOM' and the entire chamber was covered in a bright light. The boulder easily broke through the barrier! "AAAAAAAAAH." Myrrh screamed.

"MYRRH, LOOK OUT!" Using his own body, the desert king quickly gathered the little dragon girl in his arms and tried to shield her from the inescapable impact.

However, before the boulder hit all of them, it stopped abruptly, only inches away, as if an invisible hand halted it in midair.

"HAHAHA, so, how was it, did you like the taste of that? Knowing that your pathetic lives lie solely in my hands? HAHAHAHA. God, I love this!"

"Damn that abominable bastard. He is just toying with us." Joshua spoke, holding the shaken Myrrh in his arms.

With the help of Seth and his own sword supporting his weight, Ephraim lifted himself off the ground.

"It is almost as if…Blast it! He is just distracting us to buy time!"

By this time, the pulsating red light had enveloped Eirika's body completely. The demon turned around to look at the princess and grinned evilly, its hands clasped in anticipation. "It is finally time!"

The demon stared coldly at Ephraim and companions then sneered. "It would be a waste to just kill all of you now. After all, I need an audience to witness the moment that I shall surpass my master, Fomortiis. Who knows? You fools might end up begging me to end your pathetic lives once I'm through with this, hahaha."

With this said, the demon flew up in the air towards the princess. Wasting no time, he began chanting slowly but deliberately in a strange tongue of the dark language.

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Meanwhile at the East Gate Tower,

'That fireball was coming way too fast!' was all Forde could think, as it came hurling towards him.

Although the fireball was fast approaching, at that moment, however, Forde's senses could no longer function properly. It was as if he had fallen under an unbreakable spell, which glued him to the spot.

To his immediate left and right, Forde could clearly see Ross and Garcia moving away from the spot where he was standing. He also noticed that they were shouting something urgent, but he could not make out what it was.

Forde continued to stare at the fireball as it came closer, mesmerized by the glowing reddish orange hue it emitted. Suddenly, it seemed, that everything around him had stopped moving.

'Huh, so I guess it's true. Your entire life does flash right before your eyes when you are about to die.' Forde's eyes opened wide at the realization of what was happening.

'Wait a minute. That's strange. I see a man with green hair rushing towards me. Is that supposed to be a part of this whole flashback experience?' Forde wondered.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FORDE? MOVE AWAY!!!" Panicked, Kyle shouted at the top of his lungs, as he lunged at his friend, pushing him out of the fireball trajectory, barely in time as it missed both of them by mere inches. The fireball hit one of the small towers with a loud 'BOOM'.

In a blink of an eye, the entire tower was engulfed in flame. Within seconds, the structure of the tower gave out and it collapsed, creating a huge cloud of dusts. Large chunks of rocks were sent flying towards the soldiers who were running in confusion below. Agonizing screams erupted immediately after.

As sudden as it had stopped, everything around Forde began to pick up its pace once more. He finally came to his senses. Forde could still smell parts of his hair sizzling from the burn. "Ouch, that sure was a rude awakening." Forde spoke as he rubbed his left shoulder, which he landed on after Kyle had not-so-gently shoved him.

"I just cannot believe you, Forde. After I have only just saved your life, you are already complaining." Kyle's voice was serious, but his face said otherwise. He smiled worriedly at his best friend as he gave him a hand to lift him off the ground.

"Thanks, Kyle. Sorry, I just froze there, you know, for a second."

Again, Kyle smiled in response before his expression became grim once more. "But that just might have been one second too long, Forde." As he finished the sentence, Kyle raised both his shield and sword up, getting ready for another round of attacks. "Here it comes again, Forde. Be alert. This time I might not be able to save you."

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After surveying the destruction the fireball had wrought upon its preys, the Wyvern Lord flew high up in the sky leaving trails of burning hot steams.

"What's he doing now, Dad?" Asked Ross, nervously. His right hand was now gripping the handle of his axe tightly.

"Whatever it is, it cannot be good. What do you think, Sir Kyle?"

Immediately, Kyle ordered his soldiers to get as far away from the East Gate Tower as they possibly could and take cover. "I think I have a good idea of what the Wyvern Lord is trying to do."

"Well, then, don't keep us all in suspense, Kyle." Forde spoke impatiently, cold sweats breaking out on his forehead.

"The Wyvern Lord is just as impatient as you are, Forde. After seeing that he failed to kill all of us in one hit with his fireball, that we could dodge it, he got irritated. So much so that he must now be very furious. So, it is only natural that he is going to try to launch another kind of attack, one such that will ensure that our chance of survival is none. Now, do you finally understand what I am getting at?"

"Holy shi-, you mean he is going to…" Horrified, Forde looked at Kyle and then at Ross and Garcia. Their look of horror mirrored his own. "You don't mean that he is…"

"Yes, I am afraid that is exactly what he is going to do, Forde. Looks like we have just become his main target."

Forde looked forebodingly up at the sky. The Wyvern Lord was, at the moment, circling furiously around the many tower spires above their heads.

"Now listen up. Here is my plan." Kyle gathered all his companions close and explained what they had to do next.

Several minutes late,

"You call THAT a plan, Kyle?" Forde asked incredulously. "Seriously, you are not jesting, are you?" Forde grabbed Kyle by the shoulders roughly. "Well, are you?" Not amused, Kyle brushed his hands off.

"Yes, that IS exactly what we are going to do." Kyle looked at the father and son, and they nodded their heads in response indicating that they understood the plan perfectly.

Kyle continued. "Once I give the signal, proceed as planned. There is not much time, so get into positions, everyone.

"Oh man, I can't believe we're really doing this." Forde spoke, having resigned to his fate.

"Dad." Ross gave his dad a thumps-up signal. His father nodded his head, and both began to climb the walls on either side of the main tower rapidly.

"HERE HE COMES, FORDE. BRACE YOURSELF."

The Wyvern Lord had now stopped moving erratically. At that moment, it seemed as if all sounds ceased to exist. The amber-red eyes of the creature shone brightly as it locked its gaze on the two targets.

Then suddenly, the Wyvern Lord let out a deafening screech and plunged downward, its head aiming directly towards the two knights of Renais waiting below.

Forde and Kyle raised up their shields, and another howl escaped the creature. It opened its mouth wide, showing sharp blade-like fangs, which gleamed menacingly in the evening lights.

"Damn it, Kyle. You owe me big time."

Kyle gave his friend one last smile. "That I do, Forde." As soon as Kyle had finished his sentence, the Wyvern Lord swallowed them both whole.

TBC


End file.
